Skylines
by Around here somewhere
Summary: Pre-Scandal times Olitz. Starts in 1989 with Fitz dating Mellie at Harvard and Olivia in High school. When Fitz meets Liv on a chance his whole world seems to change overnight. Follow their story: facing the families, Fitz's stint in the Navy, Olivia at Yale, and beyond. Follow all the turmoil that happens when a young Fitz attempts to deviate from his father's plan for him.
1. Surprise, Surprise

Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal, or it's characters – everything belongs to the fabulous Shonda Rhimes.

A/N: Ok, so this is kind of AU, but not entirely – but it's definitely different than the shot/coma stories (I could only write so many of those) I figured it was time someone cashed in on the downright amazing fact that Fitz was a navy pilot (when we thought he couldn't get any better) Ok…so here we go…(I promise it won't be a high school fic… it'll be a more college one… but still.)

Skylines

Chapter One: Surprise, Surprise

"…So then you're pro-Nazi?" Olivia said, raising her eyebrows at her opponent across the table, "Bravo, way to further alienate just about everyone in this room."

"Ah, no," He was scrambling, and she smiled – she loved it when they tried to scramble.

"Time's up," The moderator said.

Olivia exchanged a look with him. They both knew that time was nowhere near up, he was just trying to save the other school the embarrassment of having their captain reduced to tears by their opponent's captain. Olivia smiled smugly to herself as she got down off the stage, and walked over to where her team was waiting to celebrate yet another victory. The coach, Mr. Beene, Olivia's favorite history teacher was beaming at her.

"Congratulations again, Miss Pope," He said over the rest of the debate team's congratulations.

"Oh, it was easy once he started licking his wounds," Olivia smiled and he chuckled as they were heading out to the lobby of the high school together.

"Have you heard from Edison lately?" Cyrus asked and Olivia smiled as they walked out into the parking lot into a beautiful spring afternoon.

"He calls me every night," She replied, "He was a little overwhelmed by the debate team there though."

"It's Harvard," Cyrus replied, "He probably won't get captain there his senior year. Many great men have walked those halls. I have no doubt that you'd fit right in with them."

"Oh please," Olivia said, "You're not going to convince me to go there. I'm going to Yale. I'm going to be a lawyer. I already have my acceptance letter."

"Yes. Ma'am," Cyrus said as they walked up to their cars, pausing to chat, "But Yale's a ways away from Harvard – where your boyfriend is – where your favorite teacher is going to be teaching next year… and you have an acceptance letter from them too."

"I miss him – and I'll miss you," Olivia said, and Cyrus chuckled as they headed out to the parking lot, "I'm going up to surprise him tonight."

"Make sure you're back for Monday," He said sternly, and she nodded.

"I have to be back for Cheerleading on Sunday night," She replied, and Cyrus nodded.

"Why you're doing that I have no idea," He replied and she shrugged.

"It's good exercise," She replied simply, "Plus I promised mom if I did debate team, I'd do cheer too."

"Right," He replied, "Say hi to both of them for me."

"You know I always do," She smiled as she hopped into her little buggy.

Her parents were extraordinary people, and she was incredibly proud of them. Her father commuted into Boston everyday and was the head of his department at MIT. He was so intelligent that sometimes Olivia and her mother had to just stop listening to him because they just could take his ramblings. She loved him though, he was her daddy. Her mother on the other hand was the town manager, basically the mayor of the town. Everyone knew Olivia and her family, and everyone had their money down that Olivia would surpass both of her parents.

"Hey, sweetie," Mrs. Pope said as Olivia walked through the door, "How was the debate? I'm sorry I missed it – I just got home."

"It was fine," Olivia replied as she put her book bag away, and went to hug her mother, "It was easy."

"That's what we like to hear, killer," Mr. Pope smiled as he walked into the room, kissing the top of his daughter's head.

"Well, I'm off to visit Edison."

"The boy lives thirty minutes north," said her father, "I don't see why you have to spend the night."

"Oh, let her go, Randall," her mother stuck up for her, "She's a smart girl, she stays out of trouble – and she's a good kid. She does everything we ask and more – and I seem to remember visiting a certain boy's school quite a few times. Let her have fun – the girl never has any fun."

"Fine."

"Thank you, mommy," Olivia smiled, kissing her cheek as she went off to make sure that she had everything packed up and ready to go.

She went up and made sure that everything was all set to go, throwing all the stuff that she hadn't been able to pack the night before into her small rolling duffle bag. She put on her jacket, and made sure to touch up her makeup. She walked back down the stairs, pulling the bag along behind her and sat down to dinner with her parents before she left.

It was dark by the time she was throwing her bag into her little buggy and was backing out the driveway. The buggy had been a present from her father when she made captain, and couldn't have come at a better time. Edison had always been the one with the car, and in the three years they had spent together he had picked her up for everything. Now that he was at school, she needed transportation of her own – and her parents had seemed to think that as well.

She had visited Edison at school a thousand times before, sometimes just dropping by after school. Usually she went for the weekend, but she was supposed to have had a debate the next morning – but it had been cancelled. She still had to be home Sunday night for cheerleading, but there was nothing new in that – she usually got back either Saturday night or Sunday morning so that Edison could finish up his homework.

She parked in the visitor's lot closest to Edison's dorm – which was right on the quad. She grabbed her bag out of her trunk and started wheeling it down the pathway up to the back of the dorm. She smiled as one of Edison's fellow residents opened the door for her, and she waved to the desk security worker, who recognized her and smiled.

It was a typical Friday night on a college campus. The students were everywhere in the halls, and she walked right by all sorts of things that she sort of chuckled at. She got to Edison's door and knocked, looking around confused at the boys from his hall that came out to stand behind her.

"Olivia, I don't think he's in there," said a boy that had gone to school with them – she couldn't remember his name specifically.

"Where is he?" Olivia asked, "Library?"

"Ah," said the kid as the door swung open.

Edison was standing in the door way with a towel wrapped around his waist. Olivia narrowed her gaze, immediately sensing that something was wrong – something was out of place. Edison glared at the guys that were looking on, completely not seeing Olivia.

"I told you morons, do not disturb, means do not disturb," He said as a girl came up behind him, a towel wrapped around her two as she just about draped herself around him.

Olivia was frozen, she didn't know what to do, she didn't know whether to run or to scream. Three years, three years they had spent together and all of a sudden this? Really?

"Ah, dude," said another of the guys – pointing over at Olivia.

"Olivia?!" Edison just about threw the girl off of him, "What're you doing here – I thought you had something tomorrow."

"It got cancelled," She said, forcing herself into a stiff upper lip, "Surprise."

She turned to go, and Edison stepped out of the doorway.

"Olivia! Wait!"

"Where're done, Edison!" She called over her shoulder, trying to stay strong, at least until she got out of the dorm.

She was rolling her bag behind her, her emotions too much for her to hold back. She knew that her face was starting to show that she was upset, but she would not cry, she was too determined not to. She didn't want to go home, the last thing she wanted to do was have to explain to her parents – who worshipped the ground Edison walked on – what had just happened. She took a deep breath and dropped her bag off at her car. She then took a deep breath and walked back towards the campus – she needed to walk it off. She needed to cool down before she figured out what she was going to do next.

She started walking along a path and wasn't entirely sure where she was going – the campus was different at night. Nevertheless, she was more than convinced that no matter where she ended up she would be able to get back to her car – she knew the campus pretty well, and the visitor's parking lot was in the center anyways. She was walking along, all the parties that were going on on either side of her while her brain reeled.

How could Edison do that? How long had he been screwing girls around his dorm? Had he started up as soon as he got there, or had he waited at least a little while? How long would make her feel better? She didn't believe that this was the first time, and she had no idea when it would have started. That was when she felt a tear start to trail down her cheek. What did this all say about her? She sank onto the nearest bench.

"Are you ok?" She heard a voice say, it was low, manly, and sexy.

"She's fine, Fitz," She heard another voice, a female voice from further away.

"C'mon, Fitz," Called another voice, "We have a game to get to."

"Wait just a second," The first voice replied, "Miss – are you ok?"

She finally looked up and saw the last thing she could have expected. He was tall, and cute – but he looked worried. His hair was curly and he was dressed more than exceptionally. He gave her a small smile when he noticed her tears, and she wiped them away as fast as she could.

"I'm fine."

"You're not acting like you're fine," He replied, "What's your name?"

"Olivia."

"Nice to meet you."

"C'mon Fitz," said the girl, she was getting increasingly annoyed – Olivia could hear it in her voice.

"You know Fitz, Mellie," said the other boy, "He's got to make sure everything's always just perfect with everyone. She's probably drunk, Fitz – girls cry when they're drunk."

"Your friends are waiting for you," Olivia said and he took a seat next to her.

"Screw 'em," He said, "What happened, why're you so upset?"

"Just found out my boyfriend's been cheating," She said and Fitz nodded there was something in the way that he was looking at her that made her blush a little bit, and she corrected. " Ex-boyfriend. I came up to surprise him."

"You're coming with us," He declared standing up, and the other two ran over as if he had just declared that he was going to do something destructive.

"Fitz, c'mon, honey," said Mellie as the two arrived, and Olivia stood up, "She doesn't want to come with us – I'm sure she'd much rather go find some of her friends."

"Yeah, Fitz, Mel's right," said the other guy.

"She came to visit someone," Fitz replied, "She doesn't have friends here, she's coming with us."

"Oh c'mon, Fitz," Mellie said, "She doesn't even look old enough to go here – how old are you, sweetie?"

There was something in the girls sickeningly sweet voice that made Olivia's stomach turn, but Fitz was waiting for the answer too.

"I'm eighteen," She said, Fitz nodded.

"See, she's could be a freshman," He said and Olivia shook her head – but only he saw, "We're taking her with us, and that's that."

Mellie did not seem pleased that Fitz was inviting her along, but at the minute Olivia really just didn't care. Fitz was looking at her kindly, she figured he was just being nice – from what his friends had said about him he must do this sort of thing all the time. His other friend shrugged.

"Ok," He said, "But let's go – we're going to be late."

"Where is it that we're going?" Olivia asked as Mellie went up to walk with the friend who's name she still hadn't been able to catch a ways ahead of her and Fitz.

"Hockey game," He told her kindly, "You're not in college, are you?"

"I graduate in May," she admitted, "I'm going to go to Yale."

"Oh you're almost done then. Yale's a great school," He replied, "I almost went there myself – don't tell Mellie though, she'll flip out if she finds out we're toting around a high school girl."

"Why? How old are you all?" Olivia asked and Fitz smirked a little.

"Well, Jake up there's twenty-four," He said, "He decided that College was supposed to be six years, not four. Mellie's twenty-one, and I'm twenty-two."

"So you're all seniors?" She asked and he nodded as they came up to the rink.

"So what're you majoring in? What are you into?" He asked kindly.

"I'm going to major pre-law," She told him, "I do just about everything from debate team to cheerleading."

"Cheerleading?" He smirked, "I wouldn't have pegged you for that."

"I had to appease my mother," She replied, and he nodded as they caught up with Mellie and Jake.

The talking stopped for the most part once the two reached the others. Olivia was quiet for most of the game, Mellie monopolizing her boyfriend and his friend – which was just fine with her. They seemed like a strange couple – like they worked together on paper but not really all that well in real life. She realized that this was much like Edison, which sent her right down the rabbit hole again, and she sank down a little in her seat.

"What's up?" Jake asked, offering her some popcorn.

"I'm fine," she replied, and Fitz looked around Mellie, whom he had his arm around to check in on her – he gave her a sympathetic look, then seemed to be drawn back by Mellie.

"I will never understand this game," She said, as Olivia looked up at the clock – there was only a few minutes left.

"It's hockey," Fitz told her, "They skate around and try to get the puck – that tiny black thing – into the net."

"Why is it so popular?" She said, and her complaints carried them all the way out of the arena.

"Who knows?" Jake said, throwing his hands up in the air – Harvard had lost – and he was visibly annoyed with Mellie for talking through the last few minutes.

"Where are you parked?" Fitz asked Olivia.

"The visitor's lot near Grays hall," She replied and Fitz nodded.

"That's right on the way to Mellie's," Jake said.

"I know you'll be terribly disappointed," She made a face at Jake as she clung to Fitz's arm, "But I do have to go, I have a sorority meeting very early in the morning."

"We'll drop you off on the way over there," Fitz told her, "We can't let her walk over there at this time of night – it gets pretty seedy sometimes."

The boys led them across the street and back over towards the dormitories. They dropped Mellie off, Fitz giving her a quick hug, and then starting heading towards Grays.

"Jake!" Someone called out about halfway there, and he spun around.

"Who is that?" Fitz asked, turning with him to look around.

"Oh my god, it's Jen."

"Go," Fitz replied, and Jake didn't need to be told twice.

Meanwhile, Olivia was much too preoccupied with what she would tell her parents when she got home. They would still be up, or at the very least wake up when she walked in.

"You're looking worried again," Fitz commented, "Don't worry about that ex of yours, once you get to Yale you'll have guys lining up to see if they've got a shot, trust me."

"It's not that," She replied as the parking lot came into view, "I'm more concerned with what I'm going to say when I get home – my parents are expecting me to be gone til at least tomorrow night. I don't want to have to tell them—"

"I'm sorry," He replied, "Parents can be a pain, I know that first hand."

"Yeah," She replied, "They loved him."

"I'm sure not as much as they love you," He replied, then frowned for a second, "You know, Jake and I have a futon in the room if you want to crash here, head home tomorrow. It might buy you some time if you need it."

"No, I couldn't – Mellie probably-"

"Mellie and I have been together since we were in diapers," He replied, raising his eyebrows a little, "She won't care – the futon's in the common room anyways..."

"Fine," Olivia said, and Fitz smiled a little.

"Where's your stuff?"

"In my trunk," She replied, and he nodded, "Where's your dorm?"

"We're in Hollis," He replied, and she nodded, "It's just on the other side of the quad. I hope you didn't bring too much stuff."


	2. Something's There

A/N: Thanks for the love everyone! I really appreciated all the reviews… as for Mellie – I have a few plans for her… enjoy :)

Skylines

Chapter Two: Something's There

Fitz woke up the next morning in the bunk – Jake was still snoring in the one beneath him, and he rolled out of bed and started down the back ladder. He hit the floor and chuckled a little bit to himself, he didn't know when Jake had gotten back, but he assumed that it was much later than he had gone to bed. He walked into the adjoining room that they treated like a living room and grabbed a cup of water from the corner. Olivia was still asleep on the futon, he paused for a second and watched her sleeping – his heart starting to pound into overdrive. A good feeling washed over him, and he was totally content – even happy – but just better. That was how he had felt the night before when she had looked up at him too.

He hadn't felt that way before. She was so incredibly beautiful he couldn't pull his eyes off of her if he tried, but she was so young. He had to remind himself of that, because she had seemed so much older than she really was when they had been talking the night before. But she was young, and she had just broken up with her boyfriend – she was upset. He had sat up with her most of the night talking, about a whole slew of things from her ex to her debate team, to his captaining the one there, to what she wanted to do with her life, to who her parents were, and where she went to school. Then she started to get tired, and he thought she might fall asleep midsentence, so he bid her goodnight and went to bed wishing he could tear the face off of the idiot freshman that had hurt her.

He also had to remind himself both before he went to bed and when he woke up that he was with Mellie. That wasn't something that was going to change or something that he really had control over. It didn't matter that they had been only a little over neutral to each other for years. They had been together since they were kids, since their fathers had introduced them. It was just the way it was.

"Olivia," He said, trying to get his father out of his head as he playfully dropped a pillow onto her head, "Time to get up."

"Wha-?" She sat up slowly and he chuckled – she was still exhausted.

"You wanna go down and get some breakfast?" He asked as she stretched and yawned.

"That sounds great," She replied, and he nodded, "But where can I find a shower first?"

"The girls' showers are down the hall and to the right," He told her as she nodded – starting to dig through her bag.

Fitz went back into the bedroom and grabbed his towel. He hopped into the guys' shower and was desperately trying not to think about what was going on down the hall and tow the right. He closed his eyes and forced himself into not thinking about anything at all instead. He took his ten minute shower, got dressed, and headed back to the room to meet up with Olivia. Jake had just rolled out of bed, and was tugging on clothes in their room.

"Classy," Fitz teased as he put his shower and bathroom stuff away.

"Ok, Navy boy," Jake replied, "Where's the girl?"

"Olivia?" He said, "She's taking a shower before we head to breakfast."

"You're taking her to breakfast?"

"She has to eat."

"Of course she does," Jake replied smugly.

"Oh c'mon, Jake," Fitz said, rolling his eyes, "I'm with Mellie – and that's that."

"Oh, c'mon, Fitz," Jake said, "I saw the way you were looking at her – why do you think I got back so late?"

"Shut up, Jake."

"No," He replied, "Mellie's a bitch, a class act, but a bitch,"

"That's enough," Fitz replied, "Why can't you two just get along?"

"Hey she doesn't like me either," Jake replied, "Though, I'm pretty sure she saw it too, or she might not have – her head is always up in the clouds."

"Relax, Jake," Fitz told him, and he shut up.

Fitz sighed as he grabbed his keys and wallet as the door to their room opened and shut. Jake raised his eye brows at him. Fitz shot him a look and then led the way out to the living room to see Olivia packing away her stuff.

"Well," said Jake, taking a deep breath, "It was nice meeting you, Olivia – but I have to go meet up with Jen."

Within a second, he had rushed from the room. Fitz sighed and rolled his eyes, feigning disapproval of his somewhat awkward exit. Olivia chuckled.

"Not a big fan of Jen?" She asked as they headed out of the room.

"No, she's fine," He replied as they hit the stairs and were out the door.

"So I have something I forgot to ask you last night," She said and he smiled as they walked side by side toward the dining hall.

"Shoot," He replied.

"What do you want to do when you get out of here?" She asked and he took a deep breath.

"Well, I don't have many myself," He replied, "The plan's always been that I go to Harvard, double major prelaw an and political science. Then I go into the Navy – I did basic training last summer, and almost as soon as I graduate in a couple months I'm off to be a pilot. Then I come back, marry Mellie, who's just graduated law school, and I become President."

"President?" She questioned, his tone at the end had gotten a bit sarcastic.

"That's the plan," He replied, "That's my dad's plan anyways."

"Your dad?"

"Fitz senior," He replied, less than enthusiastically, "The Governor of California."

"Seriously?"

"Yep," He replied, trying to seem proud of him, "Mellie's dad is a senator from Colorado – Hollis Doyle. Anyways, he's been grooming me for politics since I was a baby. But I figure I'll make it to Governor – maybe."

"So then Fitz is short for Fitzgerald?"

"Yep," He replied, and they exchanged looks – she knew that he didn't like talking about his father, she sensed it.

She went silent as they walked into the dining hall and Fitz told the girl at the desk to use one of his guest meals for her. They then hopped into line, and Fitz started up the conversation again. He was surprised how easy it was to talk to her, he had been even more surprised the night before – but even with the little things – it was so easy. When they finished getting their food he led her back to the table that he usually sat at, setting down his plate.

"Olivia?" Edison said, striding over as Olivia set her plate down.

"Oh God," She breathed, freezing like a deer in the headlights.

Edison? That stupid Freshman who's daddy had had to buy his way onto the debate team in the fall? He shot him a look – which Edison received rather visibly, making Fitz smile a little bit. That idiot was the guy Olivia was so torn up about?

"Hey, Edison," He made a split second decision to run block, "You know my friend then?"

"It's ok, Fitz," Olivia told him as she turned around to face Edison.

Fitz's heart sort of sank in his chest as he nodded, then watched her walk away with him. He had no right to be angry or upset, so he sat down and started eating. He was with Mellie – he was supposed to be with Mellie, and he was supposed to marry her. That had seemed just fine to him his whole life – that had seemed just fine to him up until twenty-four hours ago. Now, it felt like a muzzle, or a sweater that was three sizes too small and cutting off his oxygen supply. He was suffocating just thinking about it – how had that just been ok with him?

"That was quick," He commented as she walked back over to the table and took the seat across from him.

"There was really nothing to say," She replied simply – in an adorable business-like fashion that made Fitz smile a little to himself, "Except to make sure that he got the message that we're done."

"Ok," He replied, attempting to seem neutral, "When're you planning on heading out?"

"I figured I'd go home after this," She said and he nodded understandingly, "I just have to get my stuff from your room."

"We'll do that as soon as I'm done eating," He replied and she nodded.

"No rush."

"Good morning, Sweetie," Mellie said to him as she sat down at the table next to him, "Oh, hey Olivia – I thought you were going home last night."

"I let her crash on the futon," Fitz replied quickly with the truth before Olivia had fully opened her mouth.

"Oh, that was nice of you," Mellie said charmingly, leaning in and kissing his cheek, "You're always looking out for people, aren't you?"

"It was late, she was tired," Fitz replied, and he left it at that.

"Well," said Mellie, kissing his cheek again, "I just stopped by to say good morning – the sorority's doing a tea in a few minutes. I'll see you later?"

"Oh, yeah sure," Fitz replied, and she took off – shooting a glare at Olivia that he did not see.

"Are you done eating?" Olivia asked, and Fitz frowned a little.

"What? Trying to get rid of me?"

"No, I just want to get home," She replied, "The futon was great – it's just not as comfy."

"Hey, the futon is comfier than the bed," He replied, and she chuckled – but he nodded, "You think I'm joking but I'm not. – Yeah we can go now."

He got up and lead her out of the dining hall, commenting and showing her around the campus as they went. Edison had already done this for her, when he was all excited about going there – but she didn't have the heart to tell him.

"Do you know who's lived in Hollis?" He asked as they started up the marble staircase, "Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Updike, and Joe Kennedy."

"Joe Kennedy?" She questioned and he chuckled, "Really?"

"That probably wasn't the best example," He chuckled, as they reached the landing and were walking towards his room.

"No, probably not," She laughed at him as they walked up to his door and he unlocked it with his key.

Fitz walked into the room and picked up her bag.

"You don't have to carry it."

"It's heavy."

"I'll get it."

"Look at you, you're tiny," He replied, "I'd feel awkward making you carry it yourself."

"It has a wheels," She replied, and he looked at the bottom of it.

"I'm still carrying it."

"It has flowers."

"They're little," He replied, "And it's ok because you're going to walk with me – two debate captains, this could go all day."

"Fine," She gave in, and he smiled with a playful innocence as she followed him out of the door – shutting it behind them.

"You're sure you've got everything?" He asked as they headed down the path that would eventually bring them to the parking lot.

"I believe so," She replied, and they walked in a slightly awkward silence.

"So this is good bye then?" He asked as they got to her car and she shrugged as he threw her duffle into the trunk for her.

"Thanks for taking care of me," She replied, and he nodded.

"It's not problem – I didn't mind one bit," He replied, he had to figure out some way to keep her there longer – he didn't know why, it was just instinct, "Do you know what you're going to tell your parents yet?"

"No, but me going back today'll give me a little time to come up with something," She replied.

"I'll be sure to give him hell on Wednesday when we meet up," He told her charmingly – whether he had told her or not it was in the plans as soon as he realized who it was.

"Don't."

He was going to, so he just decided not to address that.

"Like I said, he's very obviously missing out here," Fitz told her, and she smiled.

"Thanks," She replied, "And try to figure out what you want to do, Fitz."

"I told you what I was going to do," He replied and she rolled her eyes.

"Fitz, I asked you what you wanted to do – you told me what your father wants you to do," She said and he nodded.

He was actually quite surprised by this and a little taken aback. Or as taken aback as he could be while he was daydreaming about pulling her into his arms and kissing her against the car behind her. He was itching to run his hands through her hair, kiss her forehead – He had to get away from her as quickly as he possibly could.

"I hope we meet again sometime, Liv," He replied and she gave him a surprised look.

"No one calls me Liv," She replied and he shrugged.

"Apparently I do," He replied before he could process what he was saying - he didn't care, "I have to go though so, have a safe ride."

She nodded and he started walking away. As he walked, he sincerely hoped that he would not see Olivia ever again. It would be too hard – he knew now what he was missing out on, in order to fufill his father's big plan for him. She was a danger to everything his whole life had been based on – and he couldn't let that happen. If there was a time to rebel from what his father had set out for him – it would have been before he signed up for the Navy, not now.


	3. Excuse Me?

A/N: So, I just have to say I love this universe so much, and you guys are going to hate me… ALSO: I love you all my reviewers and readers… you have no idea (since this is 1989 right now) how much I wanted to be able to have facebook and cellphones a part of this – oh well, it makes it more fun this way… so here we go… :) (And, this is more the length that each chapter will be)

Skylines

Chapter Three: Excuse Me?

It had been almost two weeks since Olivia's trip up to Harvard, and since she had met Fitz. When she had first gotten home, she had had to unload onto someone. This someone was actually two, and they took form in her best friends Abby Whelan and Harrison Wright. After she was finished telling the story about him both promptly proclaimed that Edison had always been scum, and they had told her so many times before – which she had to admit that they did. However that didn't matter, and they were there for her if she needed anything.

"But that's not even the story," Olivia had said and they furrowed their brows at her, as she delved into the story about Fitz.

"I don't buy it," Abby said, "There is no physical way that this guy is as amazing as you say he is. He's got a girlfriend and he had you sleep over?"

"I was out on the futon," She replied, "It was completely innocent.

"Can I go now?" Harrison asked curiously, "Have I done my designated male best friend work for the day?"

"Yes, Harrison you can go," Olivia told him and he nodded.

"Thank-you," He replied, getting up off Olivia's couch, "I told Keith I'd meet up with him and some of the other guys for hoops."

"Go, have fun," Olivia told him as he got up, "But please – don't tell a soul about anything that happened. My parents still don't know about Edison."

"My lips are sealed," He replied, "Besides who would I tell? Keith, David, and Eric? They don't give a damn about your relationship issues."

"You guys still let David play with you?" Olivia asked curiously.

"Yeah," He replied, "He doesn't have much game, but we all rotate playing with him."

"Nice, Harrison," Abby called after him, and he waved it off as he left Olivia's house, "So is this Fitz guy? Tell me more."

"Oh my God, Abby," Olivia replied, hugging her pillow, as Abby chuckled, "His voice is like – arg you wouldn't believe it, Abbs. His hair is just – I don't think it could be more perfect if he actually tried to do something with it. Did I mention that this summer he's off to become a pilot for the navy?"

"Are you sure nothing's going to happen with this guy?" She asked, "He sounds perfect."

"He's practically married already, Abbs," She replied, "I doubt I'll ever see him again – but damn, those eyes."

"He had nice eyes?" Abby was

"So sexy," Olivia replied, almost dazing off just thinking about them, "They were this amazing shade of blue-gray."

Almost a full two weeks later, and she was still dazing off with thoughts of his eyes. She did double takes in the hallway when she saw someone tall with curls – even if they were nowhere near as amazing as Fitz's. She felt a little like a lost puppy, and right in that moment in Calculas was no different. Abby kept poking her, but senioritis was no doubt starting to kick in. She already sent in her acceptance to Yale – she was going to be rooming with Abby, and everything was all set. Besides, the teacher was currently going through one of the problems on the last test step by step for a student in the front row – she had gotten a hundred on the test. She let herself relax a bit, she missed him, and if she didn't let herself miss him, it would kill her later.

"You ok, Olivia?" Abby asked as they walked out of the classroom out into the hall, "You were totally spacing."

"I'm ok," She replied, putting what books she didn't need for the night in her locker and taking out the ones she would need, "Have you talked to David?"

"He wouldn't take me."

"Abby, David is a guy," She replied as they started walking down the hall, "He's single, and you want him to take you to prom. So you need to talk to him."

"It's months away," She replied, as they rounded a corner, "Have you contacted your Harvard boy? Don't bother denying it – I know that who you've been dazing off about."

"He has a girlfriend," She replied, "And he's twenty –two, he can't take me to the prom – even if he wanted to. Even if I had talked to him in the past two weeks."

Abby chuckled as the last bell rang and they headed for the front door of the school. The students were all running in different directions trying to get out as quickly as possible.

"What?" Olivia just about snapped as they walked out of the building, "What could you possibly find that entertaining?"

"It's nothing," Abby replied as they navigated through the line of busses waiting to take the younger students home, "It's just that I don't think I've ever seen you like this over a guy. It's weird, you're all warm and fuzzy inside, aren't you?"

"Very funny," Olivia replied dryly, making a face at her friend as they crossed into the teacher's parking lot.

"Olivia! Abby!" Harrison said as he caught up to them, "You guys didn't hear me calling you?"

"We were talking about 'Harvard' again," Abby said and Harrison rolled his eyes.

"I hate to see you get hurt, Olivia," He took a deep breath, "I don't want you to get your hopes up. From what I've gathered, even if he did feel a little something for you too – he's not going to come around. He could – but it's highly unlikely."

"I know that, Harrison," She replied, sighing, "It's just – I can't get him out of my head."

"It'll pass," Abby said encouragingly.

"I'm really going to need you guys when it does," She replied, and the rest of their walk was silent until they crossed over into the student parking lot – where Olivia and Harrison's cars were parked side by side.

"Ok," said Abby as they came up to the side of Harrison's jeep, "Who's driving me home to – whoa."

Olivia paused, looking up at Abby – she was never at a loss of words, and to see her like that was more than slightly disturbing, She followed her line of vision and spotted a beautiful red convertible sitting in the spot next to her's. The top was down, and she wasn't up on her cars – but she had to assume that it was pretty impressive in the car world.

"Who's do you think that is?" Abby asked and Olivia shrugged – looking back at her Buggy, and she froze.

There he was – Fitz was leaning against the front of her Buggy, waiting for her. She couldn't believe her eyes, she actually physically had to blink several times before she actually started to believe that he was there. His hair was tossed casually, probably from driving with the top down, and he was in a pair of mostly worn out jeans and a t-shirt that hugged his muscles and body structure almost perfectly.

"Olivia?" Harrison asked, and then followed her line of vision, then whispered under his breath so just the girls could hear, "Or I could be completely wrong."

"Hi," Fitz smiled at her happily, and there was no way that she was ever going to be able to hide.

"Hi," She replied still not quite believing that he was there as he stood up rather than leaning on the hood, "What're you doing here?"

"Well, my classes ended at one-thirty, and then I thought I would try and book it down here and try to catch up with a friend," He said and Olivia smiled as he opened his arms, "Do I get a hug?"

"Of course," She said, she had been dying to give him one for the past two weeks, "Fitz, these are my friends: Abby, and Harrison."

"Nice to meet you both," Fitz smiled at them charmingly.

"I'll go home with Harrison," Abby said, as they headed for the jeep, "I just have to get home – you know how my parents are, Olivia. It was really nice to meet you, Fitz."

"Nice to meet you too," He said simply as they hopped into the jeep – and he looked down at her smiling as they pulled away, "So how do you feel about humoring me this afternoon?"

"I have a little time," Olivia replied, "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine," He replied, then swallowed, "I just kinda missed talking to you."

"You don't have a phone book?"

"Not at school," He said, simply, "Besides it's only a twenty minute drive."

"It's a thirty minute drive," She corrected, and he smiled smugly.

"Not in that thing," He said, motioning over to the pretty sports car, "C'mon, I'll drive. We'll go somewhere. It's a really fun car, promise."

"Only for a couple hours," She gave in, "Fine."

"Have anywhere in mind?" He asked as they headed over to his car, "There's a pond not too far from here – it's nice out – might be fun."

"Sure," He said, as they both hopped into his car, "Just point me in the right direction."

He hadn't been lying, riding in his car was fun – and she could only imagine that it was even more fun to drive, but she didn't exactly feel comfortable asking him to just yet. He pulled up to the little pond that was always empty. There was an old dock down by the water. This was where Olivia sometimes came to think, it was in the middle of nowhere, and that meant that no one would interrupt her thoughts. She would get out of her car and go sit on the dock. She got out just about as fast as he parked the car – this had to be one of her favorite places in the world. She took of her shoes and walked on the sand for a little while, then turned back around.

Fitz had gotten out of the car, but wasn't standing too far away from it. He had reached the sand, but had barely gotten further than that. He had been watching her, a thought that made her blush.

"Take off your shoes," She prompted him as she sat down on the edge of the old washed up dock.

He did as he was told, then bent over and rolled up the very bottoms of his jeans. She couldn't help but watch as his muscles tensed to do the bidding of his hands. She peeled her eyes away and looked out over the pond as an excuse before he looked back up. She looked over her shoulder like she was vaguely wondering where he was and he went and sat down beside her.

"It's pretty out here," He said and she nodded – still not letting herself look at him.

"I come here to think," She said, "I come here before every debate – even in the winter."

"Really?" He arched an eyebrow as she looked over at him.

"Why are you here, Fitz?" She asked simply and he shrugged.

"I had an extra couple of hours," He excused, "I was wondering how you were doing – and I don't meet people like you very often. All the friends that I have have been my friends since I was a toddler – they were chosen for me. What you asked me in the parking lot, no one's asked me that before, I need a friend like you. So I'm here, being a friend."

They were not friends, what a load of bullshit. She wondered how many times he had gone over that in his head before he thought that it was somewhat believable. He had to start remembering that she was one of the few people he had let in – that night that they had stayed up all night talking – she knew him. She didn't know how exactly, but he was just easy to her, like how easily they had fallen in sync then – and how easily they were now. That was not just a simple friendship – and both of them knew that – him showing up here proved it.

"How's everything with your parents?" Fitz asked, quick to change the subject.

"They're fine," Olivia replied, "Why wouldn't they be?"

"I don't know," He replied, "Have you told them about Edison?"

She looked down at the sand between her toes.

"No."

"Liv - It's been two weeks," He replied and Olivia felt herself getting angry.

"It has," She replied, "But what I tell them and when I tell them is my business, no?"

"Of course it is," He replied evenly, not even raising his perfect voice, "I was just curious."

"Why?"

"Because I care about you, Liv," He admitted, and then he got that look in his eyes again.

She had seen it before just before they had stopped talking, and out in the parking lot the next morning. He wanted to kiss her, and she wanted him too. He leaned back, she could see him restraining himself – keeping himself from doing anything. She scooted back a little to make it a little bit easier on him. He was a good guy – the best, she didn't know why she was so hard on him sometimes.

"I'm sorry," She replied, "I care about you too."

"So we can be friends?" He said and she nodded – he smiled, "Good."

"But I do have to get home," She said, looking at her watch and he nodded, "I promised my mom I'd help her out with getting ready for my dad's work party – she's completely lost when it comes to dressing up."

"I can imagine," He said as he got up and stretched, she watched him softly, "What?"

"Nothing," she replied and he smiled.

"You want to go in the water?" He asked playfully and she laughed.

"No."

"Then tell me," He said, looking at her somewhat dreamily.

"No."

"Fine," He said, and she started to run up towards his car –which he took as a race.

He raced up behind her and picked her up around the middle. She was taken more than a little by surprise as he carried her – as she kicked like she was still running on the ground and put her on the trunk of the car. For a second he had a hand on either side of her thighs, for a moment he looked up at her softly. For a moment longer he held her gaze, then tore himself away. He walked back to where her shoes had been discarded and shook out her socks, tossing her shoes to her and setting her socks next to her. Then he went around and sat in the driver's seat to put on his own shoes.

The car ride back to the high school was almost silent, but somehow it wasn't nearly as awkward as Olivia thought it was going to be. Fitz flipped on the radio to an older station, and they both half sung along with it as he drove back the way that they had come. There was a short cut on the way back, but Olivia couldn't find her voice enough to tell him about it.

"Thanks for coming down," Olivia said as he pulled back into the spot next to her Buggy.

"No problem," He replied, handing her a slip of paper, "It's the number for the phone in my room – just in case you need something."

"Here," She said, pulling a pen and a piece of paper from her bag, and scribbling down her number, "Mine, for you."

He smiled as he slipped the number into his pocket. There is was again, that look in his eyes – and she somewhat wondered if she had a similar look.

"Fitz?"

"Yeah?" He said, as she saw him fighting it.

"Does Mellie know you're here?"

He didn't answer, he looked out the front windshield, and Olivia knew – she didn't. Mellie had no idea where he was right now. He took a deep breath and turned to her about to speak as Mr. Beene walked over towards the car – Olivia smiled.

"Who's your friend, Olivia?" He asked, looking between the two of them – Cyrus had been the one adult that Olivia had told about Edison – sadly he wasn't all that surprised either, "Because he has a very nice car."

"Fitz Grant," Fitz looked more than happy about his sudden out.

"Fitz Grant, like Fitzgerald Grant?" He asked, "Captain of the Harvard Debate team? Son of Fitzgerald Sr, Governor of California?"

"Yes sir," He replied, and Cyrus smiled.

"I like the company you're keeping, Olivia," He said and Fitz smiled charmingly.

"Fitz, this is the debate team coach, Mr. Beene," She told him, "He's going to be teaching at Harvard next year."

"It's nice to meet you," Fitz said, "Are you planning on getting involved with the team once you get there?"

"I was thinking about it," He replied, "But I'm going to continue running this one, too. No one's willing to take it up."

"That's a shame," Fitz replied, and Cyrus nodded.

"Ok," He said, "I've got to get going. I'll see you tomorrow in class, Olivia."

"Bye, Mr. Beene," She said as he took off towards his car.

"I should get going," Olivia said as she got out of Fitz's car, and he nodded.

"Me too," He replied, and she paused just on the other side of her car, by the driver's side door, "Can I come see you some time next week?"

"We're friends, Fitz," she told him, "You can show up whenever you like."

Olivia was totally rethinking her words by the time she pulled onto her street. What good was it going to do allowing this "friendship"? She would never be able to fully put him into that zone, and in a weird way she hoped that he wouldn't be able to do it either. So what were they going to do? Hang around in a weird limbo until finally they slipped and they kissed – and then he was a cheater, and then she was the girl he cheated with. But then she thought about him, there wasn't a way out, she had just jarred the door permanently open. She should have just sent him back to school without so much as a polite conversation.

However, by the time she pulled into the driveway she had something completely different to deal with. Edison's mother's car was sitting in the driveway right along side her mother's. The two families had been friends since the beginning of time – she was actually surprised she hadn't run into her yet. She took a deep breath and slung her bag over her shoulder as she walked in.

"Olivia?"

"Yes, mom?" She replied as she set her bag down and walked into the living room where they were sitting.

"Olivia," Mrs. Davis said and Olivia smiled at her.

"Hey."

"Where have you been?" Her mother asked with a simple curiosity.

"Oh, a friend turned up after school," She replied, "He needed to have a chat, so we went for a little drive – I'm not that late, am I?"

"It's almost three," she replied, and Olivia nodded.

"My Edison said last night that he hasn't talked to you in a while," Mrs. Davis said in her always somewhat accusing voice – to her Edison, her only son, walked on water, "He mentioned that he missed you, and you're off with some guy after school? You're not two timing him are you?"

The last part was a joke, Olivia knew that – but she couldn't help the anger that was coursing through her veins. She knew she was about to explode, she knew that she should excuse herself – but she couldn't. Fitz was right, her she needed to tell her parents, she needed to be open about it. Why not now?

"I'm not," Olivia replied, trying to keep it as polite as possible, "It's not like that with the guy – but it wouldn't really matter if it was, because I broke up with Edison almost two weeks ago."

"What?" said both the mothers together.

"Olivia, how could you keep that from your father and I?" her mother said.

"How dare you, you insolent girl?" said his mother, "My son worships the ground that you walk on, for some unknown reason. My poor boy must me heartbroken."

"Well, I think he should be just fine," Olivia replied, "It was mutual – well at least I caught him prancing around pretty much naked with some girl from his dorm, and I broke it off. So it was basically mutual, no? I'm going to my room, I don't really want to talk about this anymore with you." s


	4. What I Want

A/N: So if you haven't been able to tell yet I'm switching off Fitz/Olivia centric chapters so you guys are getting both sides…for most things. This chapter's a bit weird – but necessary… enjoy :)

Skylines

Chapter Four: What I Want.

He had tried, he had really tried. He knew almost as soon as he had met Olivia that she would be a temptation for him. That they shared something intense, and that he should stay away. He would screw up the whole plan that had raised him since he was a little kid. He had waited two weeks trying to erase a twenty hour experience from his head – but he couldn't. He couldn't get Olivia out of his head for two weeks solid. He felt like a tweaker lying in his bunk every night – his whole brain encompassed by her. That's when he had broken, he needed to see her, not seeing her wasn't an option.

He had been going down to visit Liv once or twice a week – depending on what his schedule allowed, for almost a month. Occasionally she would call him from MIT, because there was something going on there for her dad, and she was bored. Under those circumstances he really had no objection to going and meeting her somewhere for coffee, or grabbing a bite to eat. In some cases they would just wander around Boston for a little while, or walked around in the less than two mile stretch between the two schools.

This visit was different though, he had to get out of his Dorm, he had to get off campus. Not once had going to see Liv been an escape from anything – it had always been about getting to her, not about getting away from anything else. He needed to be where no one could get a hold of him, and that was with Olivia. He had done something stupid (or so his father said), but he had done something that he had wanted to do, finally. No one deserved to know more than Olivia, he just didn't have the concentration to figure out how to tell her. If he should tell her.

He took a deep breath as he was sitting in his car waiting for the high school to get out. Olivia's car was in the shop, so there was no point in her walking all the way to the parking lot. Olivia wasn't expecting him, usually he called the night before he dropped by – but this was a different kind of visit. He took a deep breath as he heard the school bell, and turned on his radio, drumming idly on his steering wheel. He needed to see someone who would appreciate what he had done, and would take his side, someone he actually trusted – meaning that he needed Liv.

"Fitz?" Olivia said as she and her friends came up to the side of the car – she looked embarrassed or something, "What're you doing here? I just saw you yesterday."

She had been in Boston for the morning, her father was working on some papers. He had wanted her to meet up with some professor that was visiting from Yale – which she did, but then she was stuck in Boston, on a Sunday while her dad was grading papers. He had gone and met her and they hung out in Boston Commons and Faneuil Hall most of the day.

"I came to visit," He said simply, but something in his voice that he couldn't mask – and she could tell something was up, "Hop in. Your car's getting out of the shop today, right? I'll bring you to get it later."

"Fine," She replied, bidding her friends good bye as he went back into his own little world for a minute – he heard the door shut, "What's up with you? Is everything ok?"

"Fine," He replied, as he pulled away from the curb, "You wanna go somewhere?"

"Depends. What's going on with you?" She replied as he drove down a side rode that he barely knew.

"I told you, I'm fine," He smiled a little out of the side of his mouth, "Liv, really don't worry about it."

"You're not acting like you're fine," She told him and he smiled as he decided to drive out to a field that she had shown him on his last trip out.

"How long have you been waiting to throw that one in my face?" He asked curiously and she grinned.

"A while," She replied, and he chuckled, "Just looking to return the favor, for a friend."

'Friend' the word burned in his ears. Yes, they had established a certain type of platonic relationship, but the chemistry and tension made it so much more than that. He couldn't be the only one that felt it, he knew that she felt it. The way that she talked to him, the way that she knew exactly when he was fantasizing about kissing her, or more and she would back up, and off. She wanted him to be a good guy. She wanted him to be good, because that's how she perceived him, not as the guy who had been sneaking around to see her. He knew he had introduced the term, but they weren't _just_ friends. He was friends with Stephen, and Jake, and Jen, and Huck, and Lindsay – Olivia was something completely different.

"I'm ok," He replied and she nodded.

"Well then why are we out here?" She asked as she noticed where he had driven them – they had gone for a hike in the woods on the other side of the field the week before, "Something's wrong – is it your dad?"

"Yeah," He said, on instinct telling the truth.

"What's going on?" She unbuckled her seat belt and turned to face him in the car.

"He's disappointed," Fitz replied, "I think the words 'ungrateful', 'coward' , and 'Spineless' were tossed around."

"Have I mentioned that I already disapprove of him?" Olivia asked, "You're amazing. No parent in their right mind would ever be anything but proud of you."

"Yeah, well dad's not your average parent," Fitz replied.

"Well, do you feel that way?" She asked as he slouched down in his seat.

"No," He replied, "I feel – free. I feel good – I felt good, until dad woke me up with a call this morning. I don't want to talk about this anymore – is there something you wanted to do? What were you going to do this afternoon?"

"Well, if I had my car I'd probably be dropping by the mall."

"Shopping?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I have a big debate in a couple weeks," She replied, "It'll take me until then to find something to wear."

He chuckled.

"Shopping it is," He replied and she chuckled.

"Seriously?" She said, "You're going to go shopping with me?"

He would go walk through the ocean water in Southie - in January - if she said that that was what she wanted to do. He had come because after a fight with his father, he knew that there was only one person on the face of the planet that had a chance of cheering him up, and that was Liv. His Liv as he was coming to think of her.

"Yeah, why not?" He replied as he started the car back up again.

"You mean you don't mind, because you're trying to kill time and avoid your father's phone calls?" She checked as he backed out back onto the road.

"That might be part of it – just don't make me carry your purse," He replied smugly, "Where're we going?"

"Where ever it is that you'll tell me what's going on," She tried and he stopped the car – and gave her a dangerous look, like she was playing with fire – it sort of upset her, "Fine. We can go check out the shops downtown for something to do."

He felt bad, almost instantaneously. She was looking the other way as he drove through town, and he hated it. He wanted to be with her – that's why he was there. Now she was mad at him, and he had been an idiot to be such a jerk – she was just trying to figure out what was going on – he had come down with the intention of telling her, right? He took a deep breath as he pulled into a parking space downtown.

"I'm sorry, Liv," He told her, "I didn't mean to be an asshole."

"You weren't," She replied, "I was prying – you had every right to—"

"No I didn't," He said as he leaned back in his seat, "I'm sorry. I know I'm not in a good mood – I just…"

"I just think it's weird because whenever I see you you're in a good mood," She replied, and he nodded – there was a reason for that, "I won't push you anymore – I'm sorry. Everyone deserves a down day once in a while –"

"Thanks," He replied.

"My mom's ridiculous," She replied.

"About what?" Fitz asked, his concern instantly rising as he pushed his own issues to the side, "What happened."

"Well I told you I told her and Edison's mom about what happened?"

"Mrs. Davis was being impossible, as I would expect."

"Have you met her?"

"No, but his father basically paid for him to get on the debate team," Fitz replied casually.

"What?" Olivia said, her eyes went wide, "How have you not told me that before?"

"I figured he was pathetic enough," Fitz chuckled and Olivia laughed – God, he loved her laugh.

All he wanted to do was lean over and put his arms around her, hold her so close that she never even had to think about Edison ever again. It would just be them.

"So, my mom invited him to dinner on Sunday," She said, "She thinks we can work it out."

"What?" Fitz said, his eye brows shooting up into his hairline.

"Apparently Edison's convinced his mother and my mother that what I saw was a whole big misunderstanding," She said, "And that I didn't even give him a chance to explain himself. Now that I've had some time to calm down and cool off, I need to hear him out."

"Really?" Fitz said, "What a piece of shit – sorry."

"I don't think I've heard you swear before," She was surprised – it was cute.

"I don't make a habit of it," He replied, cracking a smile as they got out of the car and headed for the shopping, "So how're we going to get you out of this Sunday dinner?"

"You tell me," She replied, and he pretended to give it serious thought.

"We run away together," He replied.

"I was thinking I would just talk to my dad," Olivia replied, "The whole thing's flown completely below his radar. I don't think he'll take kindly to a guy he liked cheating on his only daughter. Really, run away together? How would the Navy feel about that? How would Mellie feel about that?"

"The Navy accepts changes of address," He replied taking a deep breath, "And Mellie – we're not together anymore."

"What? How could you not tell me?"

"I broke up with her about a week ago," He replied, as she backed him into a quiet corner of the store they were in, "Almost right when I got back to school after our hike. She was taking it pretty well – keeping it quiet. Then Jake and Stephen couldn't keep their mouths shut when they found out about yesterday – and surprise: I wake up to alternating calls from Dad and Governor Doyle. Suddenly they know about the break up – not about you, just that I broke it off with her."

"Oh my God," She said, and she grabbed his arm as she dragged him back outside of the store and around the corner towards the town athletic fields, "Are you ok?"

"Never better," He replied, "Honestly until the phone calls started rolling in, I thought I might get away with it without any major whiplash."

"Fitz, this is major," Olivia replied and he nodded.

"I'm doing what I want," He replied, "I don't know who ever would have given me that idea."

"Oh no, you're not blaming this one on me," She replied, and he rolled his eyes, "I am proud of you for doing what you wanted though."

"Liv, it's not blame, it's gratitude, for the lack of a better word," He told her, and all he wanted to do was kiss her.

She backed up – like she had read his thoughts. Was he that transparent? She was blushing – apparently he was. But he couldn't help himself,

"Fitz, I'm proud of you," She told him, again.

"Livy, you have to know," He said, taking a deep breath and she froze like a deer in headlights – oh, she knew, "I can't get you out of my head – I haven't been able to since I met you that night. All I can think about is you – and it's driving me crazy. I need to know you, I need to be around you. That's why I started coming down to visit. I had to allow myself little tiny moments with you – minutes at a time."

Olivia was quiet, he could tell she had no idea what to say.

"And I know we both just got out of long term relationships – But I adore you, Livy," He replied, "I just adore everything about you. We don't have to be anything – I just want to spend time with you. I want you to meet my friends – I want to know yours better. I want us to really get to know each other. Please say something – other than my name. Tell I'm not crazy – tell me that you feel for me too. That you haven't been able to get me out of your head."

"You're most certainly not crazy," Olivia told him firmly, "I've been driving Abby nuts."

"That's fantastic to hear," He replied, "I really, really care about you – I don't want to rush into anything."

"So nothing changes?" She asked – wrong, everything had changed, that's why he hadn't wanted to tell her just yet.

"That's why I was waiting to tell you," He replied and she nodded, "I didn't want anything to change, and it shouldn't just yet – I think it'll do that on it's own."

Like it already had, they were free. Nothing was really holding them apart anymore, He could kiss her if he wanted to – which he so wanted to, but he was being honest when he said that they should take it slow. There was no arguing that they had just gotten out of long term relationships. What both of them needed was a little bit of fun, which was exactly what they were going to do.

"So what are we?" Olivia asked.

"Friends," He replied with a smirk, "Just friends who can't keep their eyes off each other – and may within a short while end up being more than."

"I think I can work with that," She replied and he smiled.

"Good," He said, "Now how're we going to get you out of that dinner with Edison? I vote I kill him."

She laughed as he led the way back towards the stores.

"So on scale of one to ten, how upset was your dad?" Olivia asked and Fitz shrugged.

"Probably about an eleven," Fitz replied, "Our families are both very old school, and very close. Apparently the fact that I was never in love with her wasn't a problem for them."

"And it was for you?"

"It wasn't," He admitted, "They had me groomed pretty well. It didn't matter because it was easier just knowing that she was it. Until I met you, and realized everything I would be missing out on."

"Where are you going?" Olivia said and he looked at her confused.

"Shopping?" He questioned, and she shook her head.

"I don't want to anymore."

"Well," He replied, "I've been dying for you to meet Stephen – I think you'll really get along."

"Stephen?" She asked curiously.

"He's been my best friend since we were tiny," He replied, "Technically he's my cousin – He's a couple months younger than me. He's great."

"Where is he?"

"School," He replied and Olivia chuckled.

"Fitz, it's a school night, I can't go traipsing of to Harvard. It's already four."

"Oh, right," He replied, "How about I bring you to get your car – and we go to your house."

"Ok," She replied, it was Monday, neither of her parents would be home until late.

Fitz waited in the parking lot in his car while Olivia talked to the mechanic and then climbed into her buggy. He followed her to her house – never having been there before, and he was taken by surprise. It was nothing like he had expected. He had been expecting a house, a normal house, with shutters and a picket fence – but what they pulled up to was just beautiful. It was a big white house, and he had to admit thinking that it was just her and her parents he thought it would be a little smaller – but he wasn't turned off – the ranch his family lived on was basically a compound, and there was only four of them.

"It's beautiful," He said as he hopped out of the car behind her.

"Oh, I want to show you-"

"Show me what?" He asked as she started up the walk.

"My dad's collection."

"Collection of what?" He asked as she opened the door and walked inside, letting him follow her into the empty house.

"You'll see Mr. President," She teased him as he followed her through the house.

"I'm not president yet," He replied, "And according to dad I just threw a huge wrench in that plan."

"So, if it's what you want – devise a new one," Olivia replied as they entered her father's office.

"What is it?" He asked as she went into his drawer and pulled out a glass display box.

"It's a collection of Lincoln's presidential pins," She said as he realized what they were anyways.

"Dammit," He said, and Olivia furrowed her brow.

"What?"

"I forgot all about it," He said as he looked at his watch, "I have a class meeting at six. President of the student body at Harvard – looks pretty impressive on a resume."

"You have to leave," Olivia siad, and he nodded.

"I do."

"Ok," She replied, and he opened his arms up for a hug.

This was something that she had been just about dying for. Usually he gave her a hug once a visit – the contact something that he craved for so long. He wrapped her up in his arms and held her tight, close – and kissed the top of her head before he even could tell himself not to. He stepped back a second later.

"Thanks for taking care of me today," He smirked and she smiled, "I'll call you tonight, ok? We'll figure out how to get you up to visit, and out of that dinner."


	5. Worlds Colliding

A/N: First of all, I want to thank you all for all the amazing reviews and interest in the story… it makes me happy that you guys are having as much fun reading as I am writing :) Also I realized I named a character Lindsay – she's not Quinn- also, it's long hope you don't mind… The chapter is very long but I had to fit in a lot of things if I'm eventually going to get on with the story…Enjoy :)

Skylines

Chapter Five: Worlds Colliding

"So, is tall, gorgeous, and taken coming to visit you today?" Abby asked, annoyance clear in her voice as they walked out of school Friday afternoon.

Fitz hadn't been able to come down and visit her since Monday, but she understood. He called her about the time that she got home, or before he figured that she was going to bed. Olivia hadn't had the courage to tell anyone that he broke up with Mellie – especially so soon. She didn't know how to explain what was going on with them, and she didn't want to. She took a deep breath, she knew that Abby was very much like a pit-bull for her friends. She had to tell her soon before she went and attacked him or something.

"Fitz is picking me up, we're going to hang out up at Harvard," Olivia replied as Harrison popped up next to her.

"And his girlfriend has no problem with this?" Abby asked as Harrison made a face at her – Olivia didn't have time for their teasing each other.

"She might, but he broke up with her almost two weeks ago now," Olivia said and Harrison smiled wide, showing Abby the palm of his hand – she handed him a twenty.

"You don't have to look so smug," Abby told him, and he just smiled.

"You two took bets?" Olivia asked, but she wasn't surprised, "Harrison give her money back. I told you last night so that you would pick me up for school. So I wouldn't leave my car here all day."

"Seriously Harrison?" Abby said, shocked, as Harrison handed her back the twenty dollar bill, "You made that bet in homeroom this morning."

Olivia chuckled as Harrison made a face at her.

"What'd Harrison do now?" Fitz asked, he was standing next to his car – which was pulled over onto the side of the road.

"Nothing," Olivia replied, Harrison attempted to exchange looks with Abby, but she was too pissed off to return it.

"He tried to hustle me," Abby said, and Fitz nodded.

"Careful with that, Harrison," He smirked, Olivia wasn't sure that she would be able to remain on her feet very long if he kept doing that, "Ready to go, Livy?"

"Sure," She said, dropping her bag into the backseat and hopping into the front seat.

"See ya," Abby said, and Fitz smiled kindly as them as they headed off.

"How were your classes today?" Olivia asked him.

"It's Friday," He reminded her with a little grin, "The fact that I have to have Friday classes to run my double major is a pain."

"College, right," Olivia teased him, as he stopped at the stop sign at the end of the school driveway, "Did your dad call you today?"

"No," He replied, "I think he's trying to give me the silent treatment."

"Fitz," Olivia started – putting her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be – it's definitely not your fault," He replied, as he started to drive again, "It's his problem, not mine."

Olivia pulled her hand back, regretting every millisecond of movement. She didn't want to, his forearm was firm, and warm. She wanted to keep her hand where it had been, had wanted to cling to him – and she saw him watch her take it away out of the corner of his eye as he drove. He slowed down to stop at a light right before he was supposed to get on the highway. She looked over at him quietly, God he gorgeous.

"What'd your dad say about Sunday?" He asked, she could tell by his voice that he had been dying to ask her.

"I was going to talk to him tonight when I got home," She replied, she had a midnight curfew, which they were planning to get her home about a half hour before, he nodded, "He just got home from his conference this morning – after I left for school."

The light changed and he was going again, once they were on the highway there was absolutely zero chance for conversation. With the wind whipping around them as loud as it was accustomed to doing – Olivia had to struggle to keep her hair blowing gracefully in the wind instead of it just going everywhere. She was losing the battle until she sort of turned in her seat. She wondered slightly if Fitz would be adverse to her driving once in a while, or at least putting the top up when they were planning on driving on the highway. She looked over at him, and she was jealous. His hair was fine, his short hair blowing benignly in the wind, his sunglasses on as he was watching the road in front of him – stupid man hair.

"So if your dad doesn't do anything," Fitz started as he started to have to navigate the Boston traffic, "How bad would it be if I came to dinner on Sunday?"

Olivia understood his worry, she felt it herself every time his father called to tell him that breaking up with Mellie was a mistake. They weren't official yet, so they were up to their armpits in insecurity as they fell faster and harder for each other. So, any mention of anyone new coming into the picture – or anyone resurfacing, like Mellie and Edison was cause for concern. They were both so emotionally invested already, that they were starting to get overly concerned. It's not like they were anything official yet – they were in emotional limbo. Which was fine when they were together, or talking – but was terrifying when they weren't. There was a lot of trust in the balance.

"Fitz, you can't do that," Olivia said, surprised he was even suggesting it.

"Well, as your friend," He said, it was a bit of a running joke at this point, "I don't want you to have to be subjected to him."

"If we weren't friends, I'd say you sounded a little bit jealous," She teased him, and he chuckled.

"Well, good thing we're friends then," He replied, and she rolled her eyes.

"If you're looking to get in his face, he'll be at David Rosen's party tomorrow night," Olivia replied, "But I really hoped you wouldn't."

"That party you're bringing me to?" He asked, "The chance to see your friends for longer than a few seconds?"

"The party that David begged me to get you to go to," Olivia told him, "He found out we hang out from Abby – because she's obsessed with him and she knows you would interest him."

"What?"

"He's going to Harvard next year, pre-law."

"Oh, he's looking for tips," Fitz replied, and Olivia chuckled as he pulled into his parking spot outside his dorm, "But seriously, Edison-"

Olivia just looked over at him as they got out of the car. She understood that he was a little upset by it – but was he completely blind? He was a million times better than Edison, and there was no way she was going back to him anyways. She had only known Edison four years, he had moved to the town before his freshman year in high school. It wasn't like she grew up with him, or was ever going to marry him. It wasn't as if Edison was even a viable thought in her head. Why didn't Fitz realize that she was in it – whatever they were, even if Mellie was just across a field from him at all times. That was what scared her.

"You don't have to worry about Edison," Olivia told him casually as they started walking, and Fitz smiled a little bit.

"Good," He said as they passed Mellie's building, and he looked at her curiously, "I haven't talked to her since I told you. I wanted to make sure that was completely over before I talked to you about it."

"Ok," She said as they kept walking, "Where are we going?"

"I just wanted to drop off the car," He said, as he led her across the street, "You're meeting my friends, right?"

"Yes," Olivia replied as they started walking down the street.

"Well they'll be at Gopher's," He replied and she gave him a questioning look, "It's a coffee shop and library – that's where they hang out."

"Who exactly am I meeting?" She asked as they stopped outside the door.

"You know Jake, his newly reinstated girlfriend Jen, Stephen, Huck, and Lindsay," He replied, "I've explained Stephen. Huck is a computer guy – from his looks you would never guess he goes to Harvard, but he's a computer guy. Half the things he says is complete gibberish. Lindsay's his girlfriend."

"Ok," said Olivia slightly nervously – doing the math.

"Don't worry, they're going to love you," he replied as he opened the door and they walked in.

"Fitz?" Jake said like he was an old friend he hadn't seen in years, "You mean you're not disappearing off into the boonies this afternoon?"

"Shut up, Jake," Fitz looked a little embarrassed and Olivia chuckled.

"Nice to see you again, Miss Olivia," He said playfully and Olivia smiled, "Fitz is shy with introductions – so, Lindsay, Huck, Stephen – this is Olivia. The one that Fitz is always running off to see."

"Nice to meet you, finally," Huck said, he was a nice looking guy – his eyes full of life as he looked back across the table at his girlfriend.

"Fitz here won't shut up about you," Lindsay smiled kindly, and Olivia smiled.

"Stephen Finch," Stephen stood up and leaned over the table to shake her hand, "Nice to meet the reason my uncle has been calling me with increasing paranoia saying that I should be keeping a better eye out for my baby cousin."

"He's been calling you?" Fitz said, and Stephen nodded, "Makes sense, he stopped calling me."

"Well, I don't think he'll be calling me either," Stephen said, "Not after I took the credit for getting you to finally dump her."

"I'm sure you nearly gave him a heart attack," Fitz said, "He'll think you've rubbed off on me."

"Oh yes, all dread the Scottish cousin," He replied and the whole table laughed, "Then wouldn't his crappy plan be over."

The visit with Fitz's friend was actually kind of nice – it was fascinating for her to see how he acted around them. He was a little quieter, he and Stephen were undeniably the ring leaders of the little group – but he let Stephen take most of the reigns. She assumed that he liked, at least for a little while, to be able to not be the center of attention – which he seemed to be with his family, Mellie included. She liked his friends – they were funny, and goofy, but some of the most intelligent people she thought she might ever meet. They went for a walk to the commons to hang out in the grass and Stephen decided it would be a good idea to steal some Styrofoam plates from an unsuspecting vendor as they walked. He then proceeded to throw them at Huck or Jake while they were in the commons. Huck very playfully caught them in his mouth like a dog. Whenever he threw on to Fitz he would call out 'Flyboy.' Then they had gone back to where Stephen and Huck had an apartment off campus to hang out once it was dark.

"They didn't scare you, did they?" Fitz asked as they were driving back towards her house – the top was up.

"No," Olivia replied, "It was fun."

"Good," He replied, smiling at her as he pulled into her driveway.

"I just hope you'll be able to get along with my friends," She admitted, and he looked at her strangely.

"Why would you concerned about that?" He asked, "I can get along with pretty much anyone – I was dating Mellie for years."

He probably shouldn't have said that – her insides sort of shut down a little. However, she didn't want him to know that.

"Your friends didn't like her much," Olivia replied.

"No," He replied and she nodded as her father stepped out onto the front step.

"Olivia?"

"Hey dad," She called back, "I'll be in in a minute."

"Who you talking to?" He asked, and Olivia looked over at Fitz, then back to where her dad was standing.

"A friend," She called back.

"Well bring 'em in," He called back, "The neighbor's house got broken into last night."

Olivia looked over at Fitz and he shrugged. He couldn't meet her family – not yet. His family was impressive, her's was normal. He had seen the house, but her parents? They clearly weren't ready for her to be interested in anyone else, much less bring a new guy home. Oh, God – what would her mother say, what would she do? But then again, they would be meeting him eventually. But he was so much older than her – which she hadn't really noticed or cared about before – but her parents would. She took a deep breath. What if they tried to say that she couldn't hang out with him anymore? They knew she had been hanging out with 'some guy' but they hadn't seen him, much less had any sort of description of him. It was a perk of being a perfect child, they never really worried about her being sketchy places or ending up in bad situations.

"Am I allowed to come in?" He asked her softly, recognizing the look of panic on her face, "It's ok – I should be heading back anyways –"

"Why don't you come in," She said, forcing herself to hide her nerves.

"That's your brave face, are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, if you want to," She replied and he nodded.

"I'd love to meet them," He replied and Olivia took a deep breath.

"Ok, Dad, we're coming," She called as they got out of the car and they walked up to the house – Olivia's school bag over her shoulder as she walked up the path.

"Dad, this is Fitz," Olivia said as he held the door open for them, "Fitz, this is my dad."

"So you're the gentleman that my daughter's been spending so much time with," He commented as he shook Fitz's hand.

"Yes, sir," He replied.

"That's a good handshake you've got there," Her dad said as Olivia put her backpack by the hooks.

"Well come in, come in," He said as he led them into the house, "Jayne, Olivia's brought home a new friend."

"She has?" Jayne said as they all walked into the living room where she was watching TV.

"Hi," Fitz said charmingly, "I'm Fitz."

"Sit down, sit down," Randall said, and they sat down on the couch – he pulled up a chair.

"So tell us about yourself," Jayne was almost accusing, and Olivia narrowed her gaze at her – she had never known her mother to be rude right off the bat.

"I'm just finishing up as senior at Harvard," He said, and Olivia could tell that he was incredibly nervous, he hadn't missed the accusation in her voice, "I double majored in Prelaw and Political Science –"

"A senior? That makes you twenty-three, twenty four?"

"Twenty Two."

"What're you planning on doing once you're out?"

"I'm in the Navy," He replied simply, "I did basic training last summer. I go back this summer to train for aviation."

"You're going to be a pilot?" She asked, as if that was a ridiculous and trivial profession.

"For a couple years," He replied, "I have a job lined up on Beacon Hill for when I'm on breaks."

"So then you're going to be a politician?"

"That's the plan," He replied.

"Your father's a politician?"

"Governor of California."

"So you're from California?"

"Yes, ma'am," He replied

"It's late you should be heading back it's a bit of a drive," She told him, and he nodded.

"It was nice to meet you both," He said with a great deal of charm as he got up – and Olivia followed him to the door.

"I am so sorry," She told him as soon as they stepped out onto the front step.

"It's fine," He replied, "I've dealt with much worse. I'll see you tomorrow night, right?"

"Get here around six to pick me up?"

"Of course," He replied, "And let me know what your dad says, ok?"

"Yeah," She replied and he hugged her goodnight, then headed off to his car.

She took a deep breath and walked back into the house. Her father had since disappeared – probably off into his office, and her mother had gone back to watching TV. She went in and sat down on the couch.

"You didn't have to grill him like that, mom," She said and her mother muted the TV – and looked over at her.

"You've been sneaking around with that boy for a month," She said, "And come to find out – he's not even a boy at all he is a twenty-two year old man. Has he been giving you alcohol?"

"No," Olivia replied, with a scowl, "He's not like that, mom."

"All I can say is he better not be the reason you're not giving Edison a chance to explain himself," She replied, "You spent three years with a nice, respectable boy and you dump him over incredibly circumstantial evidence? You don't even give him a chance to explain himself. You owe him a chance to at least explain, Olivia."

"Mom, he came out of his room in a towel yelling at the guys behind me that he said not to disturb them - I don't owe him anything," She said, "The girl was even more naked and draped all over him. Edison is not a nice boy – and I'm not getting back together with him."

"Why so you can go off with this boy?"

"Mom, you're being ridiculous – I'm your daughter, aren't you supposed to be on my side?" She said, getting up, "You're trying to get me back together with a boy who's cheated on me. I'm eighteen mom – that might be something that seems forgivable to you, but it's not for me. And here is this boy who's perfect, ok? He's smart, and kind, and charming, and he comes from a good family and he's just good. And he's been absolutely amazing to me. He's treated me like I am his world and has asked for absolutely nothing in return."

"You're already with him, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not," Olivia replied, "We both just got out of long term relationships – as of right now, we're friends."

"He's older – he has much different things on his mind than you."

"Actually he doesn't – considering all we've really done is talked, I know you're wrong," Olivia replied, "Edison on the other hand drank every night. He used to puke on my outfits and fight me to try and drive home. A couple times, he tried to force himself on me, mom – he was drunk so I let it slide, but seriously? He's not an angel and I deserve so much better. How does my mother not want me to have the best?"

She got up and left the room before the tears she felt coming on had time to escape. If she cried than anything she might have gotten through to her mother would have been stamped as invalid – because she had cried. She walked out into the hallway and wiped the few that had puddled out of her eyes. She took a deep breath and headed towards her father's office. He was sitting behind his desk, and Olivia took a seat on his couch.

"You're friend's quite the guy, there Olivia."

"He is," Olivia replied as she brought her knees up to her chest.

"He has a bit of a crush on you."

"I know," Olivia replied.

"Olivia, you know he's too old for you," He replied and Olivia rolled her eyes.

"He's not though."

"You don't think so?" He asked, "He's almost done with college, Olivia. You haven't even started yet."

"What does that matter?" Olivia asked.

"He has so much more life experience than you," He said and Olivia shrugged.

"So? If we can make it –" She stopped, "That's not the reason I came to talk to you – I just had this argument with mom."

"Then why?" He asked.

"I need you to get me out of this dinner on Sunday."

"Olivia, the Davis' are already invited," He said, "It would be rude for you not to show up."

"It was rude for me to show up to visit my boyfriend to find him naked with a naked girl in his room," Olivia replied, and he nodded.

"You're mother…"

"Dad."

"This boy – Fitz," Randall said, "He seems like a good guy. I just don't understand why he's spending so much time with a high school girl. He's new – therefore he's unreliable. Edison was decent for three years."

"Dad, I don't want Edison," She replied, "Even if he didn't cheat on me, even if he wasn't a douchebag – sorry but he is. Fitz's he's good, he's perfect."

"Eddie really cheated on you?" He sighed as he stopped the conversation, and Olivia nodded, "Well then he's not welcome in this house."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," He replied, "I will call the Davis's in the morning myself and cancel dinner."

"Thank you so much, daddy," She said and he nodded.

"You shouldn't have to be stuck in a room with him for an entire evening," He replied, "And this Fitz.."

"Yes?"

"I'm not going to tell you you can't see him, because I don't think that will do any good," He replied, "But I want you to be careful, and I want you to tell him I'll be watching him like a hawk. I'm holding back my approval."

"Ok," Olivia said, "You can talk to him yourself – he's going to David's party with me tomorrow night."

"He's braver than I thought," Randall said, as she got up and walked towards the door, "And Olivia?"

"Yes, Dad?"

"Go easy on your mom," He said, "You're our only little girl, and you're already going off to college. You've never done anything remotely like hanging out with some boy we haven't met – it's normal for most girls – but you never did it. I think she's just going to need some time to adjust, you've always been so quick to follow what we say… it lets me know how serious you are about this. I think it scares her."

The next night Olivia was standing with her friends and Fitz at David Rosen's annual barn party. His family lived on a renovated farm – and they had completely redid the barn and made it almost ridiculous inside. David lived in the loft starting the beginning of his senior year – his parents had decided that before he actually lived on his own at school, he would have to have a little more responsibility of living there first. Which meant that basically, on weekends everyone hung out there, so the novelty of the barn had slightly warn off.

"This kid's parents just let him have this?" Fitz asked as they walked in with Harrison and Abby.

"Yup," Harrison replied, "Welcome to the suburbs."

"Oh c'mon, you didn't have something like this?" Abby questioned, "Your family has a lot of money."

"Abby," Olivia almost hit her.

"No, it's fine," Fitz said kindly, "I had a very elaborate tree house – but I was never allowed to sleep in it."

He managed to get a little laugh out of each of them, and which Olivia was happy about. Fitz could very much fend for himself in social arrangements, which made her able to relax a bit. Edison showed up about halfway through the party, and Fitz just sort of exchanged looks with her. They took a deep breath and tried to access whether or not he would come over and say something.

"Think he knows he's been disinvited?" Fitz asked in a whisper, they were sitting in a corner with Abby, Harrison, and David.

"His mom would have told him something," She replied, and Fitz nodded, "But never that he was disinvited."

Fitz looked at his watch, and Olivia followed his gaze.

"It's almost eleven," He replied, in a somewhat surprised voice, adding clearly conflicted, "I have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Aw, you're not going already," David said and Fitz made a face.

"Wish I wasn't," He replied as he got up, and Olivia followed, "But I have a meeting tomorrow morning for a debate meeting. We're trying to figure out the logistics of the last one that we have – it's conference style in D.C. We have to figure out who's competing on what tier, finalize it and send it off."

"Understood," David said, and Olivia and Fitz bid the people around them good night and left the party.

"You're going away," Olivia said, and he nodded as they got into the car.

"It's just a couple days," He replied, as he started up the car and pulled out of the Rosen's driveway, "We leave Monday night and get back early Wednesday morning."

"That sucks," Olivia said, and he nodded, "I'm going to miss you – not that I would see you in that time span anyways."

He chuckled as he reached over and took her hand, it was big and covered hers almost completely. It was the first time he had done that, and she felt herself feel a little warmer inside as he held onto it tight, and pulled over to the side of the road. He looked over at her and was fighting himself for a full minute – their eyes locked, and he gave up. He surrendered, she could see it in his eyes. He reached over and tucked a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear, then cupped the side of her face. She smiled softly as she leaned into it – telling him that it was ok.

She watched as he slowly moved in so that they were almost nose to nose. He paused, stopping to gain eye contact, but her eyes were already slipping closed in anticipation. He smirked slightly, sending waves and shivers through her, causing her to almost jump the gun and kiss him first. Then, he slowly touched his lips to hers, like he was kissing a thin crystal glass, afraid that it would break as his hand slipped around to hold onto the back of her neck. She felt another wave, this time of relief, because out how much she had been longing to feel his lips on hers. He pulled away momentarily, then went back in. He pulled her over the center consol, and into his lap in the driver's seat, her legs going horizontally across his lap and her feet resting on her seat on the other side.

She put her arms around his neck as he leaned up and pressed his forehead to hers before taking her lips once more. This time he was a little less cautious, though his lips still felt gentle on hers. He moved them slightly, slipping around her upper lip, then moving on to her lower. He went to tap her lip with his tongue and she parted her lips almost before he could so that he could run his tongue into her mouth to explore like he had been dying to. She ran her fingers through his hair as she felt his tongue hit just about every sensory point in her mouth – teasing her tongue.

"Livy," He said breathlessly, breaking out of the kiss – using his headlights to see a little in the dark, "You know I adore you, and you know that I am enamored with you. And this feeling that I have for you – when we're even in the same room, I feel like a better person. I feel like I want to be better. Livy – I – will you – God, this is so awkward. Will you—"

"Spit it out, Fitz."

"I want you," He replied simply, "I have for a really long time, and I've known pretty much since the first night I met you. I like you, a lot. I just want to make sure that you know that you're the only one in the picture for me. I want to be able to call you my girlfriend, I want to be yours."

"Fitz, really?" She said, "You're going to bump us up to in a relationship, and you're going to go away?"

"I'll take that as a yes," He told her, leaning in and kissing her again – like he was addicted, "And it'll only be a couple of days, I promise."


	6. A Girl's Dream

Skylines

Chapter Six: A Girl's Dream

By Saturday Fitz was sitting around Stephen's apartment with Olivia, Stephen, Jake, Harrison, and Abby. They had gone into Boston in the morning to go to one of her father's special lectures. As soon as that was over, they had walked over and come to visit. Fitz had been more than excited about it too, because the first thing on his list for that day was to see Olivia. He had missed her, which was pathetic, but true. He hadn't really seen her since the night of David's party, and that just wasn't acceptable to him. They had both been exceptionally busy that week, but it had been like torture not seeing her. He would have preferred the day just be them, but he didn't mind hanging out with their friends.

He would never tell her, but he had felt somewhat awkward at David's party and probably wouldn't be signing up for another unless it was her graduation party or something. He didn't mind Harrison or Abby, but the rest of the people at the party had seemed so young - he assumed it was because they were, but it was just weird to him. He never really noticed how young Olivia was until he had to bring her home before midnight. He wasn't used to being around people of that age anymore, and the whole night he had been praying that he got out of there in one piece.

"How was your trip?" Olivia asked him in a side conversation once they were sure that Abby and Harrison were fine in conversation with Jake and Stephen.

"Good," He replied, "We won, I missed you though."

"How was…"

"He didn't compete," Fitz told her, "So he was pissed about that – but other than that it was fine."

"Good," She said, leaning up and pecking his cheek discretely.

"How'd yours go?"

"Fine," She replied, and Abby stopped her conversation to look over at her.

"Fine? You destroyed everyone," She announced and Fitz smiled proudly.

"Did you?" He chuckled as he tightened his arm that was around her back.

"I did," Olivia said shyly.

"Where'd you say you were going next year again?" Stephen asked her and she was cut off.

"We're rooming together at Yale," Abby replied, and Stephen nodded.

"I'm starting law school there in the fall," Stephen said and Abby looked as if she might actually go through the roof – apparently David was forgotten.

Fitz made a mental note to tell Olivia to warn Abby about Stephen. He wasn't exactly a good idea when it came to any sort of relationship – he sort of ran the other way. Fitz loved him dearly, but he had possibly one of the most impressive commitment phobias that Fitz had ever been witness to. His plan to go to Yale for law school had so little to do with the minute differences in the programs and more to do with him having a whole new start as far as women went.

"So Olivia," Abby said, leaning forward and addressing her, "What day are you free to start prom dress shopping?"

He could have smacked himself in the head. Of course prom was coming up for them, they were seniors in high school. He looked down at where Olivia was sitting in in his arm and wondered why she hadn't said anything to him. It must be coming up pretty quickly – and he wouldn't mind at all going, even though he hadn't done something like that in four years. He would have to find a tux of course, and-

"I told you, I'm not going," Olivia told her – turning a shade he hadn't seen before as he gave her a slightly concerned look.

"I know, I know," Abby said, "But I need your input on my dress."

"What about Monday night?" Olivia offered as she stood up, and Abby nodded.

"That works fine," She said as Olivia excused herself from the room to get something to drink.

Olivia had disappeared into the kitchen before Fitz even really knew what had just happened. Stephen covered the slightly awkward gap in conversation as he got up and went into the kitchen after her. He walked in slowly as she was over by the fridge, looking around inside for something to drink. He watched her with his arms folded across his chest, his head cocked ever so slightly to the side – he was confused. Why wouldn't she want to go? Why had she been avoiding talking to him about it? Why had she hidden it, did she think he wouldn't go with her if she asked?

"Livy," He said, as he leaned back on the counter.

"Does Stephen have anything besides beer and old orange juice?" She asked.

"There should be a jug of water in the back," He told her as he pulled her a glass out of the cabinet behind him.

"Thanks," She replied as she poured herself a glass, and then took a sip.

She put the cup down, and Fitz took her into his arms, the way he would all day if they weren't hanging around with so many other people.

"Why didn't you tell me about the prom?" He asked, "I will go with you, it's not a problem."

"I just don't want to go," She told him, and he furrowed his brow, "Besides, you can't take me. The school doesn't allow anyone twenty-one or older to go."

"So that's why you didn't tell me?" He asked, and she nodded, "You should go anyways – I don't want you to have to miss your prom, Livy. Go without me then."

"I told you I don't want to go," There was her brave face again, and Fitz sighed, "And I really don't want to go without you."

"Tell you what, what night's the prom?" He asked.

"April twenty-sixth," She replied and he nodded.

"Go with Abby and get a dress," He told her, kissing her forehead, "Then reserve that night and the next morning for me."

* * *

Fitz got out of his last class for the day and sighed as he looked at the clock – he couldn't be late for this. He ran back to his dorm and got his suit out of the closet, still in its zipper bag. He hopped into the shower and got dressed in a pair of Kahki's and a white button down shirt as he headed out the door. His suit and his shoes were in hand as he went out to his car and put them in the trunk so that he could drive with the top down later. He had it up now, figuring it was best at the moment. He had this planned out to the T, which he had to because in order for Olivia to be able to go, her father had to approve of a vague schedule. It was awkward at first, but Fitz understood where he was coming from. He wasn't nearly as bad to talk to as if he had had to get her mother's approval.

He pulled into the driveway and he spotted her mother out in the front yard working on a little bit of gardening. His relationship with her mother was still pretty much non existent, despite hanging around the house a lot and occasionally getting invited to dinner. The real breakthrough had been when he turned up to one of Olivia's last meets, and then gone out to dinner with her and her parents. That was the first time that he got the feeling that she really didn't hate him – just maybe mildly disliked him. But hey, he was making headway and she had stopped grilling him about everything he did. Olivia's father had told him that it was going to take a little bit of time for her to get used to him.

"Good afternoon," He called to her as he got out of the car, and she waved back in a little bit of acknowledgement.

"Olivia's inside," She said, "I'll be in in a minute."

"Thanks," Fitz replied, as he reached back into the car and pulled out a dozen roses.

He walked up to the front door, and her father opened the door for him. He smiled at Randall kindly as he stepped inside. He walked across the hall and into the family room where Randall just looked at him for a second.

"That doesn't look like a tux," He smirked and Fitz shrugged.

"It's a long drive," Fitz told him, "I told Olivia to bring her dress rather than wear it, we'll change once we get down there."

"You really love my daughter, don't you?" Randall said, and Fitz stayed silent, "No don't be shy, you wouldn't have planned this whole night for her if you didn't."

"Thanks again for letting me take her tonight," He said and Randall nodded.

"You're a good guy, Fitz," Randall replied and Fitz nodded.

"I try to be."

"I think you're exactly the guy that my daughter needs," He said, and Fitz smiled, "So you don't have to walk around here like you're waiting for someone to stab you anymore, ok?"

"Ok, sir," Fitz replied and Randall nodded.

"Good," He said as Olivia walked down the stairs and Fitz felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

She looked absolutely beautiful, her hair was all done beautifully. It was down, cascading around her shoulders with gorgeous little curls finishing off at the ends of her hair. He took a deep breath as she finished down the stairs, her dress in a bag in her arms and bag on her back and he crossed the room about as quickly as his feet could carry him to take the dress from her, slipping the bag off her back, and trading them out with the flowers.

"You look absolutely beautiful," He told her somewhat quietly as she beamed up at him.

"Hey, can I get a picture of you two?" Randall asked as Jayne walked in from outside.

"Of course," Fitz said as Jayne took the dress and Olivia's bag for him.

He smiled as he put his arms around Olivia's waist from behind – very carefully positioning it so that they clasped just between where he assumed her ribcage ended and her belly button was. He smiled as he stood up straight behind her, and her dad flashed a picture. He then handed the camera to Olivia as Fitz took back the dress and bag from her mother. They bid her parents goodnight, and accepted their 'be careful's and headed out of the house out to his car.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" She asked him and he shook his head as he laid the dress in the trunk on top of his tux.

"And where would be the fun in you knowing where we're going?" He asked as they got into the car, his hand automatically going for hers as he backed out of the driveway, "It's supposed to be a surprise."

"A surprise that takes an hour drive?" She asked and he nodded.

"A little less than that," He replied, smirking and hoping that it would be enough to distract her.

"Don't you do that to me," She called him out on it as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I promise it's worth the drive," He told her, leaning over and kissing her quickly before he actually began the drive.

He hopped onto twenty-four south. He could see her trying to guess where they were going ever time he took a turn or an exit ramp, and he chuckled a little to himself. He was going to actually be able to pull this off, and he was happy about it. He had spent about a week planning it out, and he looked at the clock. The delay that he had had leaving class was almost made up for and he was glad. Once he got off the highway, he pulled over and had the top come down and into the car where it retracted nicely.

"Newport?" She checked, "We're spending the night in Newport?"

"Sort of," He told her, as he got back into the car and started down and got back onto the road that went right past the beaches, which were still techinically closed, "It would be a lot better if you weren't trying to guess."

"Fine," She replied, finally giving over to him as he started driving down Bellevue Ave, "I love all these old mansions – I always have."

"They're beautiful," He replied, "I was thinking I was going to take you to the Breakers to look around in the morning, but I don't think we'll have time."

"Oh I see how it is," She said as they passed the last of the really old mansions and moved onto the ones that were more modern day, "Did you know that my parents and I used to come down here all the time in the summer?"

"Your dad actually mentioned when I told him what I was up to," Fitz replied, and she nodded.

"We're going to Brenton Point, aren't we?" She said, referring to a state park with a beautiful Cliffside view of the ocean – which was right beside where they were going.

"Close," He said, blushing a little bit, "I thought you were going to stop guessing."

"That wasn't a guess," Olivia replied with a smile, "I'm assuming that my dad told you that they used to take me there to fly kites when I was younger."

"He did," Fitz replied as he turned onto Ocean Avenue.

She stayed pretty quiet for the rest of the ride, until they came up to the park. There were people already enjoying the beautiful spring afternoon out with their kids in the field flying kites, or picnicking. Fitz smiled to himself, he knew from Randall that this place had a lot of memories for Olivia – but he had forgotten how many summers he had spent there himself. Mostly hanging around with Stephen when they were small – running around the park like they were pirates or something. He drove by the park, and a little ways down. He took a right, a left, and suddenly they were on a small narrow dirt road. The pulled up into the driveway to his family's East Coast beach home, and shut the car off.

"We're staying here?" She asked, looking up at the much more modern day stone mansion with a cylindrical tower on the side of it.

"My family owns it," He replied getting out of the car, and taking her hand, "Wait until you see the front."

He brought her around to the front, because the house was built to have the front of the house out facing the ocean. There was another tower in the front of the house, and he watched Olivia as her breath was just about taken away.

"It's beautiful, Fitz," She said and Fitz nodded, "I've loved this house ever since I was kid. I always got mad because it never looked like anyone was home."

"Probably because we weren't," He said, "We only used it for about two weeks over the summer. There's a foot path through the bushes down to the road – the park is about a two minute walk to left."

"Fitz, you're ridiculous."

"There's no reason your prom night shouldn't be spectacular just because you're not actually going to the prom," He smirked, "C'mon let's go get our stuff from the car – I'll show you around inside."

"Uh-Ah," She replied and he raised an eye brow.

"What?" He asked, walking over closer to her.

She pulled him in closer by the hand until she was holding him so close he wondered how such a little person could be so strong. He leaned down and reached his arms around her too, leaning in and kissing her softly. He loved the feeling of having her so close, and how much he wanted nothing more than to just be there, with her in that moments. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, down the side of her face to her ear, where he nibbled at it playfully.

"Fitz," She said, trying to be discouraging, and he smiled and he leaned in and kissed her again, a little more deeply, before he let her head fall onto his chest, "You're an amazing boyfriend."

"I try," He replied as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"You're gorgeous." She said bluntly as she reached up and ran a hand through his hair, "You realize that right?"

"Thank you, beautiful," He replied, leaning in and kissing her once more, "But we should really get settled in."

"This is way better than a prom," She smiled as he took her by the hand and led her back towards the car.

They dropped their stuff up in the living room, behind the couch, and he brought her off to see the house. He led her up the main staircase and showed her where the most accessible bathrooms were, to showing her the bedrooms – including the one that he and Stephen shared when his family joined them for the second week. He showed her where his little sister Arianna stayed, but they had only gone a few times since she was in the realm of remembering things. He brought her down the hallway, naming the members of his family as they passed pictures of them on the wall. Olivia was smiling and laughing as he told her stories about his father and his uncles getting so drunk that they couldn't figure out where they were in the house.

"And this," He said, as the sky was starting to get a little darker, "Was always my favorite room."

They were in the top of the middle tower, and you could see the ocean perfectly. The way it was constructed you could see the ocean, but not the road, or the front lawn and bushes that blocked the house from being right on the edge of the cliff. Fitz smiled as they went up to the window, and Olivia was speechless.

"I can see why," She attempted to keep herself collected, and Fitz chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her from behind again – kissing the side of her neck.

She turned her head to the side and he was about to kiss her again, but they were interrupted. There was a noise like a rocket whipping by the window and they both looked out of it just in time to see a couple small fighter jets flying along the edge of the ocean. They were doing loops and going up and down without much of a care. Then, as quickly as they had come they were gone, out of sight.

"What was that?" She asked.

"There's a Navy and Coast Guard Base down the road," He told her, "But it's old, and not much happens there. They must be up here training for something. There's probably a carrier a couple miles off shore."

"They were navy pilots?"

"I would assume so," He said and then felt the distinct need to change the subject, "C'mon, let's go change so we can have some dinner."

He went and got into his tux, which he had been betting on being much easier to do than to get into her dress. He finished getting changed and went down to the kitchen. He had gone down the day before to stock the fridge, and deliver a few other things – so there was a picnic basket already packed and waiting as soon as he opened the door. He took it out and put it up on the counter as he went to get the blanket from the front room.

"Oh my God," The wind was taken out of him for the second time that night as he watched her walk over to him.

She was in a extraordinarily form fitting, thin, peach dress that ran all the way down to her ankles – where he could see the toe of a sequined heel poking out at the bottom. He traced the dress back up the slightly flowing skirt up to the bodice which was very lightly brushed with scattered sparkles, and he knew that he was in for it. He felt frozen, his mouth wide open – he wouldn't be surprised if he was drooling – and his eyes wide as his beautiful girlfriend walked towards him, chuckling a little at him.

"Fitz," She smiled as she took the blanket from him and put herself into his arms – kissing his cheek, "So I don't have to ask what you think then?"

"I think you're trying to kill me," He smiled down at her, "That's what I think. Also, I think you're going to have to take off those shoes."

"What?"

"The shoes."

"No."

He smiled, that's what he had hoped that she would say.

"Fine," He replied, peeling himself away from her and handing her the blanket, "Hold this."

Then he walked back over to the kitchen and grabbed the picnic basket. He walked right up to her and handed her that too.

"We're having a picnic?"

"Yes," He said, as reached down and picked her up bridal style, "But if you're planning on walking down the path in those – you're going to kill yourself."

"I can take them off," She said as he carried her out the door and down the lawn.

"No," He replied, kissing her head as he carried her down the little path through the bushes and out onto the street.

"Why not?" She asked as he located the break in the guardrail where the path was.

"Because bare feet won't do much better," He replied as he carried her down a narrow rocky path down the small cliff and out into the little cove that was hidden there – he and Stephen had found it quite a few summers ago.

"You're outdoing yourself," Olivia told him as he set her down and spread out the blanket.

"I know," He said, sitting down on the blanket and opening the basket.

"Seriously? All of this?" She said as she sank to her knees on the other side of the basket.

"Yes," He said, as he pulled out their meal and their drinks.

"Why?" Olivia said, "I would have been completely content with going out to dinner or something."

He took a deep breath and leaned back on the blanket, looking up at her.

"Because I love you," He told her as she leaned back, and her neck snapped around so quickly that he thought she might have heart herself trying to get a visual, "Livy, I love you - more than anything in the world. I'm been trying to keep it in, but I had to tell you."

"I love you too," She replied, as if the words couldn't fall out of her mouth any faster – and he smiled.

They ate their dinner then went for a short walk around the small beach that they found themselves on. After a while, a very timed out while, Fitz packed up the picnic while Olivia took her shoes off. The sun was just about gone from the sky, and soon it would be dark. The tide would come in, and the sand they were on would disappear under the waves. Olivia was insistent on walking back up the rocks by herself, so Fitz walked behind her with the picnic stuff and her shoes to make sure she didn't fall. He handed her back her shoes with a kiss once they reached the road and she held them in her hand as he took her free one.

"This has probably been the best prom night a girl could have," She told him as they crossed the road, "Thank you."

"You know," He said as they reached the path back to the lawn, "People who have actually been to prom can tell you, your date's only about a third of the experience, the other sixty-six percent is your friends."

"Oh really?" She said as he led her up the path to the yard.

Abby, Harrison, David, Stephen, Lindsay, Huck, Jake, Jen, and about six other people that Fitz only knew vaguely from Olivia's school were standing in the yard. They had set up a little tent with lights hanging from it, and were all still dressed up. He smiled as she looked up at him in shock.

"Also, the after party's always a lot of fun."

A/N: So the majority of this chapter can only be considered shameless fluff, but it's important to have at least one chapter where they're just perfectly happy before we move forward(Trust me on that one). Also, Brenton Point is a real place, I encourage you to google image it "Brenton Point, Newport, RI" (just ignore the dead whales) Thank you all again for the love on this story! :) I might not be able to update as quickly this coming week… but don't worry if I have to skip a day or two…


	7. Graduation I

A/N: So I'm severely lacking on sleep, and I had an unexpected break in my day today… so here's to hoping that last chapter didn't lose you guys…This chapter is part one of two of them graduating :) Love! (I will try to update Thursday before the show [eeek I can't wait]) Enjoy:

Skylines

Chapter Seven: Graduation I

Olivia was sitting in her living room with Fitz's notes in her lap as he sat across the room in a chair. He had been coming down to see her all week, even though it was the week before Finals. She thought it was ridiculous, but he always turned up – no matter how much she teased him about it. She knew unspokenly that he couldn't keep himself from coming down. Senioritis got to the best of people, and the extra time that was being allotted for studying was make him stir-crazy. She would never try and make him admit it, because he wouldn't – but he couldn't keep himself away, especially knowing that he had limited time to be there with her – and she silently approved, no matter how much she berated him for not studying. Therefore, she felt a little better if she was helping him study. Today it was one of his pre-law classes.

"Which Supreme Court justice oversaw Duncan v. Kahanamoku and what did it say?" Olivia said, and Fitz looked up at the ceiling.

"It said that the military tribunals under the Hawaiian Organic Act were constitutional," He said right away, "And the court was under Harlan Fiske Stone."

"Correct," Olivia replied and he smiled.

"Really?" He asked and she nodded.

"Can we take a break now?" He asked, getting up and sitting next to her on the couch, "We've been studying for hours."

"Hey," She said as he snatched her up in his arms, "This is why you were over in the chair."

"I have gotten the past two hours of questions that you've thrown at me right," He replied as she chuckled, and then he gave her a devilish grin, "Where's my reward?"

"You can have a kiss, or you can have one of the cookies when they get out of the oven," She said and he pouted comically.

"I want both."

"Typical rich boy," She replied laughing at him a little and he frowned.

"Fine," He said, leaning in and kissing her so that she could feel the tingling in her toes, "Now, are you going to deprive me of one of your fantastic cookies?"

"Typical politician," She joked, leaning in and kissing him again as the oven buzzed in the kitchen.

Olivia hopped off the couch and out of his arms as she ran into the kitchen. He chased after her playfully as she reached the kitchen she grabbed the spatula off the counter, holding it as if it were a weapon as she slipped the oven mitt on the other hand – keeping him at a distance.

"Stay back!" She teased and he smirked – showing his hands in surrender as she opened the oven and pulled out the sheet of cookies.

He went over to the cabinet on the other side of the room and pulled out the cooling rack for her, setting it down on the counter as she started taking them off the sheet, carefully putting them onto the rack. He smiled as he stepped behind her, playing with the hair that was laying on her shoulder – clearing it off and kissing her neck softly before he side stepped and leaned against the counter.

"I really can't have a cookie?" He asked and she rolled her eyes, lifting one up to his face with the spatula, "I made them for you – I was going to send them back with you."

"But then I have to share them with Jake," He said as he took the cookie.

"So what? You're going to eat them all here?"

"Maybe."

"Then your physique will suffer, you realize that, right?"

"I get up at five and work out for two hours just about every morning," He replied, "I can have a couple cookies."

"Fine," She replied and he chuckled, "So when's your last final?"

"Tomorrow," He replied between chewing, "Graduation's Sunday. If you can get to the dorm about ten, then you can meet my mom and you can sit with her."

"I thought I was going to sit with Lindsay," She replied nervously, "I thought we said that that probably wasn't a good idea to have me sitting with your mom the whole ceremony."

"Lindsay – broke up with Huck," Fitz said, and Olivia raised her eyebrows, "She ran off with some older guy. He's not doing so hot."

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"Like he signed up for the CIA, not doing so hot," He replied and Olivia's eyes went wider than usual.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Fitz replied, "I promise, my mother is definitely the smaller of two serpents – plus my Aunt, Stephen's mother will be there, she's great, she'll work like a really good buffer."

"Well that's good," She replied, "What about your dad?"

"He has something big going on at work," Fitz said as he took another cookie, "Probably some deal with trying to figure out how to finagle the taxes."

"What kind of father doesn't going to his son's graduation from Harvard?"

"A father who graduated from state school," He replied and Olivia nodded, "And a father that's never really paid too much attention over than to crack the whip."

"Your sister's not coming?"

"My sister's at boarding school," He replied, "I'll see her a little while after though."

"How's the studying going?" Olivia's mom said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Good," Fitz told her.

"It looks like cookies," She replied and Olivia smiled.

"We're taking a break."

"And what about your finals, Olivia?" her mother asked, and Fitz arched an eyebrow.

"My finals aren't until next week," She replied, "And there all useless subjects – like Calculus, Shakespeare, Physics, Biology, and Gym."

"Shakespeare's useless?" Fitz asked her, surprised.

"No," She started to back pedal, and Fitz chuckled at her.

"Olivia, how do you feel about having your graduation party in June?" She asked, "Just because we have so much in the next couple weeks."

"But that's after Fitz is gone," Olivia said and her mother nodded "He has to report to Norfolk the first week in June."

"Well I don't know when else we can have it," She replied, and Olivia nodded.

"You should have it then," Fitz encouraged her, "That way you'll have something else to think about for at least the first few days."

"What? Besides my boyfriend flying tiny planes at really high speeds over the ocean?" She asked, she was nervous, she got blunt when she was nervous.

"Exactly," Fitz replied, "Though I doubt I will be in the air that quickly."

"Fitz are you staying for dinner?" Olivia's mom asked and Fitz shook his head.

"I should get back and fit in some more studying," He said and she nodded as she left the room.

"You have to eat," Olivia told him, and he nodded.

"I will," He replied, taking her into his arms and kissing the top of her head, "But I'll grab something on the way back – I don't want you worrying like this, ok?"

"I can't not worry about it."

"I love you, so much," He said, then sighed, "I will always come home."

"Promise?"

"I promise," He said, leaning in and kissing her.

* * *

Olivia pulled up into the parking lot nearest Fitz dorm just after nine-thirty on Sunday morning. He had parked his car across two spaces, with just enough room for her to squeeze in next to him the night before. She hated when he did that, she was always afraid that he was going to get in trouble for it, or he wouldn't leave enough space anyways. She took a deep breath as she straightened her sundress out a little bit as she got out of her car, and started walking up to the dorm.

"Stephen for Christ's sakes stop doing that," said a frazzled sounding female voice as she nodded at the guard and headed up to Fitz and Jake's room.

"Livy," Fitz's face lit up as she walked through the open door.

Stephen, the woman who had been talking who she assumed was Stephen's mother, Stephen's father, and who she assumed were Jake's parents were all piled into Fitz's room. She smiled as she edged around the people to get to Fitz they were all standing around in their suits.

"Where's Jen?" Olivia asked Jake as Fitz wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple affectionately.

"She's already gone," Jake told her, "She has an internship in Washington so she couldn't stay for the ceremonies."

"That's awful," Olivia said and Jake shrugged.

"Livy!" Stephen said as he stumbled a little bit over to her and gave her a big bear hug, "Good to see you."

"Hi Stephen," Olivia said, eyes wide as he let go of her and stepped back a little.

"Stephen!" his mother said as Fitz took her back into his arms.

"Is he…"

"Drunk, yeah," Fitz replied, "He had the grand idea of deciding it would be best to drink somewhat heavily this morning to get through the ceremony."

"I give up," His mother said, and Jake chuckled.

"I'll make him some coffee," He said, heading over to the coffee maker as Stephen's mother walked over to them.

"Fitz, introduce your old Aunt to this beautiful girl," She said, she was just glowing with goodness and Olivia couldn't help but smile.

"Auntie Mae, this is my girlfriend, Olivia," He said, "Livy, this is my very favorite Aunt, Mae."

"You can just call me Mae," She said, as the phone started to ring, and Jake picked it up as he handed Stephen his coffee.

"Hello?" He said as Fitz grinned happily – leaning in and pecking Olivia's cheek as Jake's parents went to go move their car.

"Fitz, you," He held it out and Fitz ran off to get it as Stephen and Jake came over and picked her up off the floor.

"Hey, Dad," She could barely hear him over Stephen and Jake humming Pomp and Circumstance.

"Would you two stop it?" She said, looking down at Jake for help, "Jake, help me out here."

"Put her down you two," Fitz said, the phone pressed to his shoulder, as a woman walked into the room.

The way Stephen shut up and became silent as they set her down she knew that this woman was Fitz's mother. That wasn't the only way she could tell – it was suddenly very clear where he got his curly hair from – though her's was blonde. She was tall, and everything about her screamed luxury. Olivia watched as Fitz just sort of continued his conversation, and the boys just about stood at attention she stood awkwardly between the two, not sure exactly what to do. She looked over at Mae for a second, who returned it cautiously.

"There's my baby sister," Mae said as she walked over and gave her a huge hug – which was probably the last thing that the woman wanted.

"Hi, Mae," She said as she ducked out of the hug, "Stephen, my most charming nephew."

"Hi, Aunt Bridget," Stephen smiled kindly at her.

"Jakob," She said and Jake nodded.

"Hello," He said, tipping his head as her eyes traveled onto Olivia.

She could feel the eyes and the judgement fall onto her, it was like she was trying to see through to her thoughts and innards. She shifted slightly, hoping that the awkwardness wasn't all that tangible as Fitz cleared the futon like it was a hurtle to get to her. He stopped once he was beside her and smiled at his mother charmingly.

"Hi, mom," He said, as if he couldn't get it out fast enough – hugged her – then put a possessive arm around Olivia's shoulders, "This is Olivia, my girlfriend – the amazing, intelligent, and beautiful girl I've been telling you about."

"Oh, yes," She said as she extended her hand, and Olivia shook it nervously.

"Where's Jerry?" Mae asked, interjected – causing Bridget to turn around and go talk to her.

"Oh, he had to stay… something political," She said as the boys behind Olivia relaxed and dispersed as she turned to Fitz.

"You ok?" He asked, putting his arms around her, "You don't have to stay—"

"I'm ok," She took a deep breath and tried to thicken her skin.

"You're putting on your brave face," He said, "Are sure?"

"Yes, I am sure," She replied, and he nodded, "Who was on the phone?"

"Dad," He replied, with a little smile.

"Smiling?"

"He was just congratulating me," He replied, "He didn't say anything bad – just apologized for not being here, well as close to an apology as dad gets."

"Good," She said as he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, so much," He said, "You're sticking around for tonight, right?"

"If you want me to," She said and he smirked.

"Well I'll always want you to," He smiled and she laughed a little, "Right now. Hold on to that today, ok?"

"What?"

"Right now," He said, "While you're dealing with my mother today, just remember that you think I'm handsome, and charming – and that you love me. Also, Mae will help you, and please don't let her get to you."

"I will be fine," She replied, and she put on her 'brave face'.

"Also it might help to think about how I'm so much in love with you that I couldn't even think straight during finals," He added in just above a whisper as he kissed the top of her head and Jake's parents came back in.

Jake's parents were followed by a tall, handsome Scottish man with gray hair, a twinkle in his eyes, and a crooked smile. She didn't even have to be told that this was Stephen's father. Stephen introduced him to her as 'Finn and within a few minutes the boys were out the door, having to meet up at the dining hall and get their caps and gowns before they were organized into their graduation ceremony. This left Olivia with the parents, and sticking pretty close to Mae as they headed towards the stadium, where they were supposed to find seats for the ceremony. She stayed quiet, not really knowing what to do. It seemed as if his mother either didn't know how or just flat out didn't want to talk to her. This being something Mae noticed about halfway over, and struck up conversation with her.

"So Stephen told me you're going to Yale?"

"I am," She said as they joined a larger crowd headed for the stands.

"Do you know who your roommate is yet?"

"I'm rooming with a friend," She told her, and she smiled.

"Well that's good," Mae said encouragingly, "I'm going to have to have to keep an eye on Stephen."

"He'll be fine," Olivia said, and Mae gave her a less than assured look, "I will check in with him."

"Thank you," She said as they started to pass the field house.

"Well that couldn't be Bridget Grant," said a booming southern voice from somewhere to their left.

She stopped with a look almost comparable to excitement. Mae, Finn, and Olivia stopped and waited while Jake's parents went to find some seats. Olivia kept looking around and Mae got a look on her face and Olivia looked concerned. Finn rolled his eyes and Olivia was trying to figure out who could possibly cause such a mixed reaction. Mae took hold of her arm subtly, and Olivia gave her a confused look as a portly man walked over with a similarly shaped wife. He was blonde, she very dark haired. There was something in her features that somewhat rang a bell – but she couldn't place it.

"Hollis and Lily Doyle," Bridget said, and Olivia started to panic, she had forgotten that they would be there.

"Hi, there," Hollis boomed and Olivia flinched a little bit – his persona combined with what she knew about him was terrifying to her.

Lily was looking her up and down with disdain, and Hollis didn't seem to be bothered at all by her presence. Lily was looking at her like she was something that she would have to remove from her shoes later, and was glaring at her when she was about to open her mouth to speak.

"We're going to go get seats," Mae told her sister, as she and Finn just about carried Olivia away from the situation.

"I will never understand your sister," Finn said and Mae shrugged.

"I don't get her either," Mae said as they started climbing up the stands, "Don't pay any attention to any of them, honey. I have never seen my nephew so happy – never mind how miserable he always was with their pig of a daughter."

Finn chuckled low in his belly, but Olivia didn't say anything at all. She stayed silent the entire ceremony – for which Bridget didn't show up. Eventually Olivia noticed her in a box almost directly next to the field. She was sitting with the Doyles. It made sense, their families had been friends for years, but then why did it hurt so much? Did it hurt Fitz this much when her parents hung out with Edison's? She couldn't imagine it did – they at least made an effort and were somewhat approving of him. She sighed heavily as the Harvard Class of Nineteen eighty-nine filed onto the field and into the folding chairs, and she felt Mae's hand on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, sweetie," She said kindly, "Don't think about it, ok?"

"Thanks," Olivia told her and Finn rolled his eyes.

"It was about time that boy found someone that actually made him happy," He said, then turned to his wife, "Do you remember when they first made him take that girl out? He hid at our house for almost two weeks before his father personally came and got him."

Olivia went silent again as the ceremony concluded, and they all stood up to go and find the boys. They worked their way through the crowd and fought there way towards the box, where Bridget was wrangling up the boys as they passed. Fitz beamed as he spotted Olivia walking towards him, and opened up his arms. He pulled her in just as soon as she was near the tips of his fingers, and kissed her softly.

"I'm done," He smiled, then rolled his eyes, "Well for the next three or so years."

"I'm so proud of you," She said as Mae pulled out her camera, and flashed a picture of them, Fitz kissing the side of Olivia's head.

He let her go for a second and she turned around to face him.

"This requires some intense celebration," Stephen said and Jake and Huck laughed a little bit.

"Ok, all four of you for a picture," She said as Olivia spotted Hollis, Lily, and Bridget watching her disapprovingly from a little ways off.

"Mellie!" Bridget called happily as she walked over.

"Mrs. Grant," She smiled as Bridget leaned in and hugged her tight.

"I'm so proud of you," Bridget said as she fixed her cap and the Doyles looked on admiringly.

Olivia felt it like a stab wound to the chest, and she forced herself to look back at Fitz. Mae took the last picture that she was planning, Jake, Huck and their parents took off. Stephen and Fitz slowly walked back over towards Olivia. Fitz was still beaming, and Olivia forced herself to too. Fitz gave her a questioning look and then picked her up off the ground, spinning her around. She could feel the slightly less ecstatic party to their left watching them, and somehow she felt dirty. Like she was the one in the wrong, and she was the one who should be hiding in the background.

"Stephen and Fitzgerald," Bridget said, as soon as Fitz set her back down on the ground and kissed her forehead, Mellie was smirking, "Come take a picture with Mellie."

Fitz shot his mother a concerned and wary look as he pulled Olivia closer to himself. Olivia could tell that he knew that this was hard on her, and he was trying to make it the least horrible that it could possibly be. Stephen on the other hand, was still a little buzzed enough to give her a reproachful look – something only he would be able to get away with. She then marched over to where they were all standing –glaring at them both, Fitz a little heavier.

"No," Fitz told her, as soon as she was close enough so that he wasn't yelling at her, "Absolutely not. After all the shit she pulled – after all the shit you've pulled-"

"Let her take pictures with her sorority," Stephen said, cutting across Fitz and Bridget gave Olivia a dagger of a glare – like she was the one who had gotten her into the situation.

"You boys have known that girl since you were all in middle school," She told them, "You can't take a damned picture with her."

"We haven't wanted to know her," Stephen was brave, Olivia had to commend him.

"Olivia, would you excuse yourself, please?" Bridget said dangerously, "This is a family issue."

"Sure," Olivia said – somewhat sarcastically – and Fitz looked at her like he might panic if she did.

"No, mom you have no right to—"

"She said sure," Bridget said, "Lovely girl."

Olivia walked over to where Mae and Finn were standing, watching the whole scene disapprovingly. Why couldn't they be Fitz's parents? If they were would Fitz have ended up like Stephen? Not that Stephen was at all in a bad place professionally, he just didn't have the best personal life between the drinking and tendency to sleep around. She watched, as hard as it was as both of them finally broke down and walked over towards Mellie together.

"C'mon my boys," She smiled triumphantly as she outstretched her arms towards them.

Both of them kept about a foot and a half distance between them and her. Stephen voluntarily stood in the middle, and Olivia was a little thankful for that. Fitz looked absolutely miserable, and Stephen made a face at the last second, gesturing something rude towards the camera.

"Stephen, get out of the view of the camera," Bridget said tiredly, did that mean it was just going to be a picture of Fitz and Mellie?

Olivia's heart sank, but Fitz shook his head.

"You'll want a picture once you're done with this stupid spat," Hollis told him as she started walking away.

"Once you're done with that girl," Lily added on, and Fitz whipped around.

"The deal was one picture, for you three and my father to moon over," Fitz told her tersely, "And don't you ever talk that way about Olivia, you miserable woman."

"Fitzgerald!" Bridget said as Fitz reached Olivia and took her hand firmly, Stephen right behind him.

"I'll see you in California, mother," He replied as he led Olivia, Stephen, and his parents away, he added under his breath, "Hopefully you'll grow a soul by then."

"Fitz, you can't let her get to you like that," Mae said as they stopped to drop Stephen and his parents so they could go to lunch, "You're a big boy now, you can tell her no. And you protect that beautiful girl, ok? Don't let her go."

"I will," Fitz said as he hugged her, and then she moved towards Olivia, "To the best of my ability."

"Don't let her get to you either," She replied, hugging Olivia tight, "Don't let them get to you. You're a good girl, and you're perfect for my Fitz – don't you let anyone tell you anything else."

"I will make this up to you," Fitz said as they were walking back to the dorm a few minutes later.

"I'm not worried about it."

"Of course you are."

"I'm trying not to think about it," She said, and he gave her a sad look.

"I love you," He told her, in case she forgot.

"I know," She said, and he nodded.

"My mother's a piece of work," He replied, then made a face, "I'm required to go home before I ship out."

"When are you going to do that?" She asked – a whirlwind of thoughts going through her head.

"My plane leaves Sunday," He told her, and her whole body wanted to crumble, the day of her graduation, "She sent me my ticket last week - I didn't know how to tell you."

"Seriously?"

"Tonight, this week," He said, leaning in and kissing her softly, "Will be all about us – I promise."


	8. Graduation II

Skylines

Chapter Eight: Graduation II

Fitz stood in the shadows, in the back of Olivia's graduation. Her parents were sitting in the stands, and he was standing down almost behind the bleachers. He couldn't have missed her graduation, he had never intended to. He sighed as he looked through the crowd up at his beautiful girl, his girl – his Olivia. He smiled a little to himself as he crossed his arms, leaning against the side of the bleachers, as he listened to her Valedictorian speech. He was so ridiculously proud of her that he had to look up at her parents in the stands to make sure he wasn't the only one.

They were beaming and brimming with pride. Her father looked down at him and he smiled up at him, taking a step back further into the shadows. Olivia could have no hint that he was there – not until after she was done. He didn't want to intrude. Olivia's parents had been waiting for this day for over eighteen years, he – while it felt like a whole lot longer – had only been around a couple months. While he intended to be around for years, decades, forever – he still had to take a backseat. He wanted her to have this moment with her parents – her parents to have this moment with her – without him getting in the way.

The night of his graduation, he had been hell bent on keeping Olivia happy the rest of the night. They ordered in a pizza and sat in his Dorm – cuddling and snuggling while they ate and laughed and talked. They talked about all sorts of stuff, but mostly what they would do once he got home from special training. This only led to Olivia's back on the couch and Fitz hovering over her, a hand on either side of her head as he leaned down and kissed her.

"God, I love you so much," He whispered, his eyes flicking down her clothed body below his as she reached up and tugged at the bottom hem of his shirt.

He almost instantly brought himself up so that he was kneeling – a leg on either side of her hips as he raised his arms over his head. She smiled as she leaned up, pulling this white t-shirt he had been wearing under his suit earlier over his head and throwing it to the other side of the coffee table – where it landed on the futon. He chuckled a little bit as he watched it fly – then watched her face as he had traveled down his six pack.

"You act like you haven't seen me without a shirt before," He teased her as he pinned her back down to the couch softly, leaning in and kissing her passionately as she ran her hands up his back to his shoulder blades.

"Mmm," She hummed as he diverted his kisses down the side of her neck.

"Like that do you, Livy?" He breathed into her ear as he felt her hands hold onto his hips.

"I love you," She whispered breathlessly as he ran a hand down her side, running his fingertips around her covered stomach.

"God, Fitz," She breathed as he pressed his lips to her shoulder.

"We should go to Stephen's," His head popped up as soon as she got the words out.

"And if we don't?" She chuckled as she leaned forward and kissed him again, wrapping her arms up around his neck adoringly.

"We've only been together less than two months – it seems like more- but it's not," He replied, knowing fully well what his limits were – and Olivia was pushing them, as she had since the night that they had met, "Livy."

He had let his voice go, and he knew she could tell in his tone how much he wanted her, right then. She raised her eyebrows at him and he gave her a small, shy smile. Making love to her was on the top of his list of thoughts most of the time, he was a guy. But, she wasn't ready for that step – which was fine. She had just been cheated on, she from his knowledge hadn't even been active with him. It would be kind of embarrassing for him to admit to his friends, but even as a mostly grown man he didn't even want to think about what sex with Olivia would unleash in him – he wasn't exactly ready for it either. If he thought he was distracted, wrapped around her finger, and constantly had her on his mind now He didn't know if he could stand being in the same room with her knowing what that would feel like – what it would be like. He would never want to stop.

"We should go to Stephen's," She nodded, and he got up and retrieved his shirt as she fixed her hair.

"It should be fun," He said as he ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it – and she went over to help him.

"There you go," She said as she stepped back and he smiled kindly.

He kept his eyes glued to her the entire time that they spent at Stephen's party. The apartment was just about full of people, some of which Olivia had met in passing, so she was socializing across the room while he stood around with Stephen, Huck, and Jake, and had a beer. She turned around to look at him, effectively catching him watching her and he just smiled in return. One of which times she made a point of adding a little extra sway in her hips as she walked into the kitchen.

"Fitz, you are in so much trouble with that one," Stephen commented, and Fitz nodded.

"Oh, yeah," He said, finishing the last of his beer.

He had comes to terms with how much trouble he was in when it came to Olivia long ago. He loved her like he had never loved anything on the planet, and he knew that was insane. He fully comprehended the fact that they had only been together such a short time – but he could barely start to think about how he would be in existence without her – he was done. She was all that he wanted, and all he would ever want. The way she kept him in line, the way that she just loved him. He couldn't get over how much pure pleasure he got from just brushing his lips across her forehead, from just being with her. The warm feeling that he got whenever her eyes were anywhere close to looking at him, the way he felt when she was even in his general proximity.

"How the hell are you going to be able to focus on flying planes?" Jake teased him, and Fitz shrugged.

"That's why she won't be on base," He joked as he finished off his beer and put it down on the coffee table.

"You know, Canada's always an option," Stephen told him, somewhat seriously.

Fitz had driven down, as promised, every day that week. He sat in the parking lot and picked her up after her last couple finals, and graduation practices and they went and did something fun. Something that usually caused a lot of energy and time to be spent – he was trying to keep her mind active. She didn't have school anymore to occupy her mind, just all the thoughts that went along with him leaving and he could not stand that. So he would take her out, they would do something that would make her think of anything and everything else, and then he dropped her off at home fairly late into the night.

The last of the days it was about ninety degrees, and he was just about sticking to the seat of his car as he pulled into her driveway. It was Saturday, the last day before Olivia's graduation. He tried to seem subversive, he didn't want her to know that he was there yet. He didn't know exactly how he was going to deal with her being upset about him going.

"So, Dad," He said, talking into the black mobile phone that his parents had gotten him for graduation – a leash of sorts, "Everything's all set?"

"Everything's at least well underway," He said, "Are you sure you have to delay your flight?"

"Yes," Fitz replied, "That's kind of the point of the call, dad."

"I know," He replied, "It's just a shame to lose a whole day in air travel."

"It'll be fine," Fitz breathed as he tried to unstick himself from his leather seat, "Thanks for being understanding about this, dad."

"When I heard what your mother did –"

"It's really ok, Dad," Fitz told him, of course now it was – he looked up as Olivia came out of the door and started walking towards him, "I got to go, I'll see you tomorrow night."

He closed the phone to watch in awe as Olivia walked up to his side of the car. She was wearing little white sneakers and this amazing little outfit that fit her so perfectly he could have sworn that it was made for her and her alone. She had a bag slung over her back, and the halter strap from her bikini was sticking out from the back of her neck. She was absolutely breathtaking, as per usual. Fitz popped the trunk for her without even saying a word –not sure he even could.

"Hi there, Beautiful," He managed to find words as she slid into her seat up front with him.

"Hey sexy," She kept her eyes on him as she reached for her seatbelt – kissing him quickly as she leaned over to fasten it.

"Sexy?" He questioned his ears as he looked over at her, not sure what to think.

"Fitz, the freshman girl's track team doesn't take breaks on runs," She said, motioning discretely over to the side of him where there were about twenty fourteen year old girls standing on the sidewalk, "However, they seemed to have managed to find something to look at. They all can't possibly be wrong."

"We have got to get out of here," He said firmly, backing out of the driveway and pulling away from the house.

"So where are we going?" She asked, fixing her outfit, "Because I really don't want to think about tomorrow."

His stomach burned, and his heart ached for her, but he couldn't do much more about it than he already had. He looked over at her sadly, and leaned over carefully. He kissed the side of her head affectionately, like it might actually help numb the pain she was going through.

"I leave today entirely up to you, Livy," He replied, "We can do whatever you want. We can go to the beach, we can go on a hike, we can go wander around Boston, we can do whatever you want. Though dinner I am taking you to, no exceptions."

Olivia decided on a hike at a nearby reservation, which was actually a little bit closer to Boston. All the way up, he walked behind her, watching her, or held her hand as she led him up her favorite trail. He was happy, and all he could think about was being with her – and she seemed happy too, which was his only motivation. He just wanted her to be happy, he didn't want her to be sad, or worried. He wasn't in it for that. He wanted to her to be ok when he left, and he was going to do everything in his power for that to be the case.

They were almost to the top when a lake came into view. He chuckled as she went over to the sand, dropping her bag down in the sand, and he just smiled at her as she started stripping down to her suit. He had his on underneath his clothes too, but he hadn't been expecting this.

"Oh, you cheated," He said as he put his pack down and peeled his t-shirt off of his chest.

"Fitz, you're drenched," She said as she put her clothes into her bag, pulling out her towel, "I picked this trail for a reason."

"You're smart," He said, as he dropped his shirt into his pack and pulled down his cargo shorts – revealing his swim trunks underneath.

"Let's go, Grant," She said as he reached down to get his shoes off.

"I'm coming," He laughed as she headed towards the water, and he followed her pretty closely.

"You're the one who said to bring suits," She said, turning around and taking his hands in her's as she led him towards the water.

"Because it was warm, and I thought you'd pick going to take a swim somewhere," He said as she led him across the little bit of sand and into the water, "But you cheated, and picked two activities in one."

"Yes," She said, smiling as they walked into the water, "Smart, not cheating."

"Fine," He said, as he pulled her close in the water, "You're brilliant anyways, it's not like I have to admit anything new."

He smiled charmingly as she reached up and ran her hand through his hair. After a quick dip in the lake, they dried off and ducked into a little changing room that was near the edge of the trees. She smiled as he took her hand and led her the rest of the way up. It was quiet, they listened to the sounds that were all around them and just enjoyed being together. It was nice, and Fitz was just happy to be able to be with her.

Once they had finished their hike, they got back into Fitz's car. He smiled over at her, and then chuckled a little to himself. She hated not knowing where they were going, and he somehow found a certain amount of joy in her not being at all comfortable. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and drove them over to his apartment in Boston where he was going to be living when he was on leave.

Fitz didn't think he had seen Livy, as of yet, as excited as she was when they walked into his apartment. Maybe with the exception of the first day he had shown up to visit her. Though, it was hard to tell because that day she had hidden some of her excitement where she was clearly not bothering to do so as he gave her a quick tour. He was still working on getting used to it himself, but it was looking good to him. Olivia's excitement about it was absolutely perfect, because while it was his place, he wasn't really thinking much about it being his, so much as it being a place for them.

After he had finished giving her the tour and then proceeded to make her dinner. She interrupted and tried to help him the whole way through, until he finally escorted her to a chair. He told her to sit down and just relax, that he was cooking and she was going to just have to deal with it. He knew she didn't like that too much – but it did the trick. She went off and disappeared for a while – he assumed exploring the apartment for herself, and then came back about the time that dinner was ready. After they ate they were sitting on his couch, her nestled up in his arms.

"I love you," He said as he leaned in and kissed the side of her head.

"I don't want to have to say good bye to you," She said and he nodded.

"Then don't," He said as she leaned up and kissed the side of his neck, "I'll be back before you know it. You'll have your summer with Abby and Harrison, and I'm sure Stephen will drop in on you – and I'll be back the end of August, before you even have to move into Yale."

"I'm more worried about you being back in California," She said, and he made a face, "I'm worried about your parents, and Me-"

"Don't," He stopped her – he knew where she was going and it was completely ridiculous, "I talked to dad – she's not going to be there. She's a part of my family's circle – but not my personal one. I don't want her, Liv. I don't love her, and I never did. You are everything to me – I won't ever be stupid enough give us up for anything. So stop thinking about it – ok? I love you more than I could possibly express to you, Liv. I may be physically leaving, but I'm not going anywhere."

The conversation replayed in his head as he watched her cross the stage and get her diploma. He smiled, glad that he was there to see it as the caps were all tossed into the air just after the conclusion by her Debate Coach, Mr. Beene. Fitz quickly made himself lost, blending into the crowd as friends rushed to take pictures with each other, and parents just about killed each other trying to get down to where their kids were. Fitz took a big step back and started milling towards the track, where a lot of students were taking pictures with each other. He had time to kill while Olivia's family had time with her.

"Fitz?" Harrison said, looking surprised as he walked away from a picture with some guys, "What're you doing here, man? I thought you left this morning."

"I delayed my flight – she doesn't know I'm here," He replied, he had lost sight of Olivia and her parents, "Do you know where she went?"

"She was headed over here, I think," Harrison replied, "But she kept getting stopped every couple feet."

"I'll go try and fine her," He said and Harrison nodded.

"You better."

Fitz smiled, leaving the track area to go back towards the bleachers. He spotted Olivia a few feet in front of him, taking pictures with her parents. He caught her father's eye and he nodded, giving Fitz the green-light to make himself known. He stepped out from behind the man who was blocking him from view and Olivia's eyes went wide, making him smile, opening his arms as she ran into them.

"What are you doing here?" She said happily as she leaned up and pecked him softly.

"We're going to head home, honey," Randall told her and she nodded as he and her mother headed off towards the parking lot.

"I haven't given you your graduation gift," He said, leaning down and kissing her forehead.

"What?" She said as he reached into the pocket of his jeans and handed her a small jewelry box.

He grinned as she opened it and her eyes lit up. Inside there was a pendant with a peach colored stone in the center, surrounded by tiny diamonds and inlayed in silver. It was on a dainty little silver chain that he couldn't wait to see offset the color of her neck. The whole thing had reminded him of her dress the night that they spent in Newport, and he hadn't been able to stop himself from buying it for her in Boston – just before his own graduation.

"You like it?" He asked and she smiled.

"It's beautiful," She said, and he smiled, leaning in and kissing her softly, "But what are you doing here?"

"Well, there was no way I was going to miss your graduation," He said, "So I called my father and very politely worked out a deal."

"Politely?"

"I didn't have to threaten to desert Navy," He said, as if that somehow made it ok, "So relatively polite. So last Tuesday he switched the flights – because I couldn't, it's on their card."

"Tuesday? You ass!" She punched him in the arm, "Why would you make me think that you were going to miss my graduation?"

"I never said that, just that my plane leaves that day," He smirked and she made an angry face at him, "Because it's the strangest thing, when I demanded on Tuesday that you were able to come with me – he said no. But after mom's meltdown on Sunday, I told him there was no way I was coming without you – and this magically appeared in the mail."

He pulled out two boarding passes from his pocket and displayed them for her to see.

"Fitz.."

"One for you, one for me," He said, handing her the one with her name on it, "I talked to dad, you're staying in the pool house, and mom promises to play nice. I think dad's a little embarrassed that she was so rude, so he should be fine too. If they go back on it, we spend a week in a hotel the beach. I don't see a real issue with that. I already talked to your parents – your mom packed your bag for the most part – just waiting for you to throw in the last few things that you might want."

"And what if I don't want to go?"

"I wouldn't blame you," He replied, and she broke out in a smile.

"You're bringing me to California."

"Yes."

* * *

A/N: So I didn't trust myself to put the Author's note at the beginning, because I thought I might give something away. So it seems as though they're getting a little bit of a reprieve from them having to say goodbye just yet, though I think you all know their time at the Ranch isn't going to be a whole barrel of laughs… Thanks for reading :) leave me a note if you so wish…


	9. Grant Ranch

A/N: Hey, so that episode…aaaaaaauuuuuuggghhhh ok, so here we go – thanks for the love and here it is:

Skylines

Chapter Nine: Grant Ranch

Olivia woke up on the plane with her head resting comfortably on Fitz's shoulder. There was a blanket over her, which hadn't been there when she fell asleep, and she looked over at Fitz. He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her again, leaning over her and kissing the top of her head. He brushed his cheek on top of her head, and smiled as he tried to stretch in his seat, and the 'fasten seatbelt' light turned on above everyone's faces. Olivia sat up and put her's back on, looking over at him softly.

"You're so good to me," She said as she played with a little stray strand of his hair.

"You have no idea how nervous I was that you weren't going to want to come," He said as she attached herself to his semi-outstretched arm.

"In what universe exactly would I ever say no?" She asked, sure his mother breathed fire, but he was shipping off in a week.

"I didn't know if you want to sign on for a week of my family."

"I haven't met them, Fitz," She said, "With the exception of your mother. But I want to meet Arianna."

Fitz smiled, she could tell that Fitz loved his little sister very much. From the pictures she had seen at the house in Newport, she was adorable. Though, she had a feeling that those were more than a few years old.

"Well you'll get to meet her right when we get to the airport," He said, looking at his watch, "She's flying in from Boarding school tonight, too. Dad said that a car would be waiting, we just have to find her and bring her home with us."

"They're letting her fly alone?"

"This is the first time, and she's fourteen," Fitz replied, somewhat unconcerned, "They stopped flying with me back and forth when I was twelve."

Once they landed, Fitz took Olivia's hand and led her through the airport with such ease that she wondered slightly how many times he had gone through it. Just going back and forth to school in the fall and spring, coming home and going back for Christmas, was for times a year, just multiply that by however many years they had sent him to boarding school. Who knew how many times Fitz had gone through that airport, he probably knew it better than anyone who worked there. He got them to the baggage claim within a minute or so of getting off the plane. He stopped around the end of carousel C and was looking around – she assumed for Arianna.

"Fitz!"

They both looked around and saw her sitting on her trunk over by one of the benches – the backpack on her back looked bigger than she was. She was tiny, petite, and absolutely beautiful. She had blonde hair like their mother and bright blue eyes, a variation of Fitz's gray ones. She assumed from the pictures that those were from their dad. Arianna just about jumped off of her trunk and Olivia realized that they were about the same height. Fitz let go of Olivia's hand slowly as she went running to him.

"Hey, Kid," He said, smiling as he hugged her tight – then let her go, "How was your flight?"

"Good," Arianna told him with a smile as Fitz's took Olivia's and back in his – like he couldn't handle not having it in his – which Olivia found adorable, "There were a couple of other kids from school on the plane, so it wasn't too bad."

"That's great," Fitz told her as he wrapped his arm around Olivia instead, "Ati, this is Liv. Liv, this is my baby sister Ari."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Ari smiled shyly, like she wasn't sure how to interact with Olivia, but she was warm.

"Sit with your trunk," Fitz told her, "I'll get Olivia and I's bags, and then bring the car around. Did dad tell you were he was having it parked?"

"I think he said it would be right out front," Ari told him, "He arranged to have someone sit with it."

Within a few minutes they were piling into the car, Fitz taking the drivers' seat only after getting the passenger door for Olivia and the back door for Ari. Fitz pulled away from the curb and offered Olivia his hand as he started driving. Olivia noticed about ten minutes later that Ari had fallen asleep in the backseat, using her arm as a pillow. Fitz smiled a little, looking over at Olivia.

"She's so cute," She told him and he smiled, nodding.

"Yes." He nodded for emphasis, as he got off the highway and started down a small side road,"And I think you two're going to get along really well."

"She seemed like she was scared of me or something," Olivia said as he took a right.

"She's just shy," He said as he pulled up to a double gated driveway, "You won't be able to shut her up soon enough."

As the car pulled up to the them they swung open, and he started up the driveway. Olivia was unsure why they bothered calling the house a ranch. It was a big pale house with a hipped roof, and it kind of reminded her of a west coast, modern day version of some of the Newport Mansions. The front door was grand and elegant, with some sort of elaborate carvings around the door frame. The window were all huge and picturesque. It was almost on the same level as their house in Newport.

"Ari, wake up," Fitz called into the backseat as he stopped the car and she sat up.

"Do I have to?" She asked and Fitz chuckled.

"C'mon, it won't be that bad," He told her as they got out of the car We have to be at dinner in ten minutes."

"It won't be bad," She said as he went around to the trunk and start pulling out their bags, "Until you leave, and then it'll be hell."

"You'll leave for camp soon anyways," Fitz said as he set her trunk down in front of her – popping out the wheels.

He went to grab Olivia's bag just as a couple of the housekeepers appeared next to him. After a very short conversation, they convinced him that it would be best if they brought the bags in for them. Fitz allowed it, which Olivia was a little bit surprised by, but she reminded herself that that was the way it was there. It seemed like Fitz and Ari needed to readjust to it too. He led Olivia by the hand around the house to the pool house – and gave her a quick tour.

"And where will you be staying?" She teased him as the tour ended, they walked out of the pool house, and he pulled her into his arms.

"My room's right there," He replied, taking her hand instead as he pointed up at one of the nearby windows – then kissing her, taking her a little by surprise, "I'll show you around it later."

"Down on the patio," He replied as he started to lead her down the hill towards the ocean.

"This place is huge," She said as she looked back at the house, then over all the land, "You grew up here?"

"I did until they shipped me off to school when I was nine."

"Hey! Wait up!" They heard Ari call behind them, and they looked around – pausing to let her catch up, "Thanks."

"No problem," Olivia smiled kindly at her and she smiled as they walked down a couple stairs to where there was a patio.

It was a beautiful brick-worked patio that was about five feet away from where the sand started. There was a gazebo a little ways down, but a long table was set right in the center of the patio, which had a beautiful white table cloth, and was set for five. Fitz's parents were already sitting on the ends of the table, the two seats for them were facing the ocean. Olivia tried to avoid looking at, or even acknowledging that Bridget might be looking at her as they approached the table.

Olivia took a quick look at Fitz's father. He was a big man, barrel-chested and he was smiling at her. His smile kind of reminded her of Fitz's, though his eyes were much brighter – like Ari's. He looked nice, kind, she couldn't imagine that this man was who Fitz had been griping about since they met. She took a deep breath as Fitz opted to seat her closer to his father than his mother, pulling her seat out for her and kissing her cheek gently before taking his seat next to her – sliding it a bit closer to her so that he could keep her hand in his – she smiled. He was so sweet.

"Hi Olivia," Jerry said with a polite smile, "I'm Jerry, Fitz's father – it's nice to finally meet you. "

"You too, Governor," She replied, and he smiled.

"Now I must confess, I don't know much about you," He replied, she knew this wasn't because Fitz didn't tell him – it was because he hadn't listened, "But I hear you're going to be attending Yale in the fall?"

"Yes, sir," Olivia replied, "I'm going in Pre-law."

"Very respectable," He said as the staff came to deliver their meals, and fill their glasses, "Fitz tells me you graduated earlier today, Valedictorian?"

"Yes," She said, and he smiled at her kindly.

"That's very impressive," He said, "Would you mind passing me the salt?"

She passed it over to him, and then looked back at Fitz, who didn't look pleased. She furrowed her brow at him quickly, then gave his hand a quick squeeze as the conversation topic switched to Arianna, and what her parents could be expecting in her report card when it came. After that it was Fitz, and the job that he would be going back to on Beacon Hill once he was off from training and waiting for stationing. Olivia was glad that they glossed over the Navy bit, she didn't want to have to think about it. The rest of the dinner went pretty smoothly, which was good. His father was being nice, his mother was being silent.

"That went surprisingly well," She said as dinner ended and Fitz was walking her up to the house – everyone else walking ahead of them.

"It did," He said.

"We should do something with Ari tonight," Olivia said, and Fitz smiled.

"Really?"

"I mean," She said, as he wrapped an arm around her, and she leaned over and kissed his cheek, "Not all night, but-"

"Ari," He called, and she turned around, "Why don't you go change into your swim suit? We'll go for a swim in the pool? Have a fire?"

"Sure," She said, a smile going wide across her face as she took off towards the house to change.

"You wanna take a peak around the house?" He asked, and she shrugged.

"We can do it later," She replied, as he shifted routes to walk her to the pool house, "You should go get changed."

"Eh, I'll walk you back first," He smiled, leaning over and kissing the side of her head, "Listen, I just want you to listen, ok?"

"Ok," She said as she opened the door to the pool house and they walked inside.

"I want you to be careful, with my dad," He said as they walked into the living room section – Olivia went to interrupt him, but he kept talking, "Let me finish ok? My dad is a politician, a seasoned one, he can be charming – he can be downright lovable. The man sitting at the table tonight, there's something going on."

"Are you sure he's not just sorry that your mom was so rude?"

"Olivia, you're thinking that he's a logical, kind, human being," He said, as they sat down on the couch together, "I'm just saying keep your guard up, ok? He can charm his way into anything, but that doesn't mean he uses his powers for good, ok. I just don't want him to hurt you. This is all way too easy."

"Ok," She said, snuggling up to him, and he took her into his arms, "I will be careful, ok?"

"Good," He breathed a little easier as he leaned in and kissed her.

"But you should go and get changed, you're sister will be down soon," Olivia said and he nodded.

"Ok," He said, leaning in and kissing her again softly, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Fitz left to head up to the house while Olivia went to her bags in the bedroom and took out her bikini. She put it on, slipped on her flip flops, and threw her towel over her shoulder as she walked out to the pool area. Ari was already out there, putting her towel down on one of the chairs, and turning on the lights. Olivia smiled a little bit as she went over and put her towel down next to Ari's.

"So," Olivia said as she kicked off her flip flops, "How did you get your trunk off the carousel by yourself?"

Ari turned bright red, and Olivia panicked – that was not what she was going for. Her mind was spinning and she didn't know what to say. She wanted for Ari to like her, she wanted a good relationship with her. She was important to Fitz, and more than that she could see that Ari was just as bullied as Fitz was – and that was awful for a fourteen year old girl. She didn't need that.

"I'm sorry," She said, "Fitz said you were shy, and I just was wondering. I just, I wasn't going to ask you in front of Fitz, or anyone I just –"

"It's ok," Ari said, smiling shyly, "It was this guy from school that was on the plane with me."

"Oh yeah?" Olivia asked as they each took seats on the edge of the pool, their feet in the water, "What's his name – if you don't mind saying."

"Keith," She smiled when she said his name, "He goes to camp too."

"Oh, that's exciting," Olivia said and Ari smiled.

"He's so gorgeous," She admitted, and Olivia chuckled, "Thanks, you know – I heard you on the way up, telling Fitz you wanted to spend time with me tonight."

"No thanks needed," Olivia told her, "Why wouldn't I want to get to know you?"

"Mellie didn't," She said, "She never wanted me around, she would make up excuses and try and make it seem like we were tight, when we weren't at all. She was kinda a bitch. It used to make Fitz so mad, he used to yell at her about it, told her to leave me alone. I'm glad you two are together now, you are already way better."

"Thanks," Olivia said and Ari nodded as they heard the back door open.

"Ok," Fitz said, walking out in just his swim trunks, a towel over his shoulders, and a water football under his arm.

"Ready?" Ari said as she hopped up and ran over to the diving board, and Fitz tossed the ball to her – which she caught in the air on the way into the water.

"So you two were bonding?" He said as he dropped his towel on top of her's and went and hopped right into the deep end.

"I like her," Ari smiled and Fitz grinned, swimming over to where Olivia was still sitting on the edge of the pool.

"It's hard not to," He said as he stood on the side of the pool and reached his arms up towards Liv.

"Yes?" She said.

"Come in," He smiled charmingly, "C'mon it'll be fun."

"Don't listen to him," Ari teased her, and Olivia laughed, kicking at him so that he was splashed in the face and Ari jumped onto his back.

He tossed her off gently, then dove at Olivia's feet. He stood up, and picked her right up off the edge and carried her into the water. They played in the water for a little while, then Fitz started up a fire in the fire pit as the girls got out of the pool. They got a bit of time and conversation in, Fitz broke out the marshmallow, and then Bridget called Ari into the house to go to bed. It was late, and she had to go to bed. Olivia watched Fitz watch his baby sister go into the house, then was up in the air in his arms.

"Wanna go down to the beach?" He asked, "Or do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Movie sounds good," She replied, "I'm exhausted."

"Or you can just sleep," He said, and she just looked at him.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," He said, "Breakfast is in the kitchen in the morning – which is right to the right once you walk in the back door. I'll be on a run til about ten, but there's just something out from eight to ten-thirty. Ari's usually up around nine-thirty."

"Ok," She said as he leaned in and kissed her.

"Can I come in an snuggle you for a while?" He asked.

"I have to take a shower," She said, and he nodded.

"I'll come back out."

"As long as you stay until I fall asleep," She replied as she leaned in and kissed him softly.

"No problem," He smiled as she got up and headed into the pool house.

Fitz got back just as Olivia was ready to climb into bed, and he climbed right in beside her. She loved the feeling of his arms around her – the way it felt having him there behind her. She fell asleep pretty quickly, mostly just out of being so comfortable having him there. She woke up the next morning, and it was about nine. She took a quick shower and got dressed as she headed to the kitchen to grab a little breakfast. Once she walked in the back door she took a right into the hallway, then stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Bridget's voice.

"…Lily honey calm down," She was saying, "Darling, he can't really be serious about this girl…well I think he's just fucking her, and you know Fitz – he can't just do something like that casually…yes I know Mellie's not doing well…I feel for the girl, I really do. I'm sure that Fitz will be over this little fling soon….Well Jerry did the same thing. We broke up the summer before college, he ran off with some girl for a while and then he came back….Yes, I realize that this isn't the summer before college…. Don't worry about it, Lily. It'll still all be ok."

Olivia was flat against the wall, breathing heavily. Her breath was short, and she could barely figure out what to do. She couldn't think, what did she mean that Jerry did the same thing? Fitz and her weren't sleeping together, but what if she was just the rebellion? She managed to pull herself together to get a good breath in before she left the house. Bridget would be leaving the kitchen soon, and she couldn't let her see her. She ran out onto the lawn and knew that that wasn't far enough.

Tears were starting to fall down her cheek, and she had to get further away. She went down to the beach, knowing that she was shaking. Was that why Bridget hated her so much? She just reminded her of some girl that Jerry had played with for a summer? Was she getting played? She walked out past the patio and sat in the sand, watching the waves – not really caring what was going on around her. She had to pull herself together – she had to be able to face everyone for the rest of the week.

"Livy?" She heard him somewhere behind her, and she looked around.

He was in running shorts, sneakers, and had his disc man headphones around his neck, the player in his hand. He was all sweaty, just getting back from his run. Of course he ran on the beach, why wouldn't he? She took a deep breath and she would have gotten up, but couldn't. She couldn't feel her legs, or anything for that matter.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he walked over, dropping his disc-man and sitting in the sand next to her, "What happened? Is everything ok?"

"I'm fine," She replied, wiping her eyes and he made a face.

"C'mon, Liv. I can't snuggle it out of you because I'm disgusting," He said, "Please don't lie to me."

"Fine, something just upset me ok?" She said as he moved closer.

"Ok," He said, giving her a concerned look, "You don't want to talk about it?"

"No," She said, "I just came down here to relax and feel better."

"Ok," He said, and she looked over at him, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Olivia spent the rest of the week trying not to think about the phone conversation that she had overheard with Fitz's and Mellie's mom. She tried to focus in on just spending time with Fitz, she wanted to just spend as much time with him as possible. This really was her last week with him before he shipped off, and no matter how much she hated it, he did have to go. So, they spent the week joined at the hip, Fitz telling her all about his favorite places near home – and Ari telling her all kinds of stories about mischief he got himself into. Big Jerry, as she had been instructed to call him, was charming all week – she actually kind of liked him a lot.

She took a deep breath as they got ready for dinner on Friday night. It was the last one, and her and Fitz were going straight to the airport afterwards to get onto different flights. This she was not pleased about – but she would deal with it. Like he said, he would be back before she knew it – she just had to stop obsessing about it.

"Ready to head down?" He asked as she walked out of her room and he flipped off the TV.

"Sure," She said, as he took her hand, leaning in and kissing her sweetly.

"You're beautiful," He said, looking her up and down and she felt it all over her body.

"Stop doing that," She complained and he chuckled as he kissed her again.

"C'mon, let's go," He said, and she was led out of the pool house.

Ari was coming out of the house and ran right up to Olivia. She smiled and wrapped her free arm around her as they walked down. They got to the table about the same time as the parents, which was not exactly unexpected. They all sat down and were chatting for a while – as usual without Bridget contributing too much. Fitz was holding Olivia's hand on top of the table, and Olivia finally felt like she was starting to forget about what she had heard from Bridget Monday morning.

"Arianna, Darling," Jerry said as they were finishing up dinner, "Would you mind running up to my office and grabbing my glasses?"

"Sure," She said, getting up from the table and leaving – the second she did Olivia felt the mood of the table shift, and Fitz gripped her hand a little better on the table.

"Fitz, we need to have a talk," Jerry said, "I understand your feelings for this girl – she's great. I understand more than you know. But passion is not stable, passion doesn't bring you to the White House."

"Excuse me?" Fitz said, leaning back, "I can't believe this – You have to ruin a nice visit, don't you?""

"Fitzgerald, listen to your father," Bridget spoke up and Olivia just watched Fitz give her an incredulous look.

"Fitz, it's time that this ends," Jerry said, "Olivia, you're a smart girl. You know that this won't end well. You'll just hold him back."

"Are you listening to yourselves?" Fitz said, standing up, and taking Olivia by the hand – making her stand too, "I'm not going to sit here and take this, or subject Liv to this. I love her, ok? I'm in love with her. She's not going anywhere – I won't let you two run her off this easily. I'm not going to ever be with Mellie – even if by some chance Olivia and I don't work out. Even if you two manage to alienate her more than I can fix. I can't go back to that. I couldn't possibly go back to that misery when I know what I can have with Olivia. I'll fight for that forever. We should get to the airport. Bye, thanks for the great week."


	10. Special Training

A/n: So, this chapter in particular was one in the works since the beginning (I had up to about twenty planned out to some degree until I just had to start writing) but this one was one that I thought Starinthem in particular would like, along with whoever else wanted to see the phone calls earlier on… enjoy:

Skylines

Chapter Ten: Special Training

_Livy – _

_I miss you so much, all I can think about is how terrible it was going away from you like that. I wish I could have stayed with you longer, held you there in the car rather than both of us having to run for our separate planes. It's awful, because all I can think about is you. I can't wait to get out of here and be back with you. They say after training we have on average about a month before we get our placement. I'll have to do a couple trainings in Maine one weekend in the middle – but other than that I can work and be with you until they figure out where I'm going. _

_They've actually started getting us up in the air, it's not nearly as hard or as difficult as I thought it would be. So far the teachers have just switched seats with us – they're behind us in the navigator's seat and we're flying. I love it, which I didn't think I would. The ship itself is very much like living in a dorm. We get our own bunks, something to do with some shrink thinking that we need extra care. Either way, it's nice to have a place to recoil to after being in the air all day. _

_Well, I don't have much time before the next training session. I miss you so much, the guys are starting to give me crap about it. I can't wait until I get to hold you again. You're not going to be able to get rid of me when I get back. Abby and Harrison better take advantage of you being so free right now. _

_Love you more than ever, _

_Fitz_

_Fitz –_

_Mom, Abby, and Harrison have been working over time trying to keep me busy but I miss you so much anyways. They can only keep me so busy, but I'll be ok until you get back. Abby and I went into Boston the other day for a little while and went shopping. It was kind of fun, but all I could think of was the day that we ran around that day around Faneuil Hall and Boston Commons. We walked over by Harvard, and picked Harrison up from his orientation. We walked right by that stupid bench that you found me on – it was weird being there without you. I feel like college is coming so quickly, but once it does you'll be back. So I guess that's always a good thing. _

_Stephen stopped by a couple days ago. He's been mysteriously showing up once a week to hang out. We usually go out with Abby and Harrison, going to go do something or going and hanging out somewhere. I don't know how I can prove it, because I know neither of you would ever fess up to it, but I have a feeling that Stephen's visits have something to do with you. Abby's happy, of course, and it's nice getting to know him because he'll be at Yale with us – but you can call him off. I'll be ok, you don't have to make him check up on me so often. _

_I went out to the pond yesterday, I broke away to get a little time to myself. I love you, so much and I can't wait until you get back. How are you doing? They're not being too hard on you, are they? I know boot camp's rough, but is special training as bad? Everything is fine here, just missing you, and getting ready to leave in the fall. But, when you do get back I'm reserving you for at least as few full days. _

_I love you, _

_Liv_

Fitz folded up Olivia's letter and put it back in his sock drawer with the others as someone knocked on his bunk door. He shut it, and walked over to the door – it was their lunch hour, and after they had a couple hours of free time before they had to report for night flying practice. He had just finished eating, and had gone to get the mail. He and Olivia were writing back and forth pretty quickly, and when the ship he was on, The USS Abraham Lincoln, went into port he called her.

"What's up?" He asked, opening the door to see another one of the pilots, Mike.

"You're in a good mood," Mike chuckled, "Does that mean that you just got a call from your girl?"

"Maybe," Fitz replied and Mike chuckled.

"Relax," He told him, "I was just coming to see if you wanted to go down to the gym for a while."

"Sure," Fitz told him, "Let me just throw on some shorts."

He closed the door, and then went back into his room and switched into his gym shorts and threw some sneakers on. A smiled crossed his face as he spotted the picture of Olivia and him the night of her "prom" over by his bed. He went down to the gym with Mike as an escape. He was nervous about the flights that they were going on that night. They hadn't been out after dark yet – and yes, it was something they were going to have to learn, and their teachers were flying with them, but what if he crashed?

What if he lost it? He had been doing really well so far, and had been the example for the rest of the team. That probably didn't help with the teasing when he got a letter from Olivia just about every lunch. He didn't care – he loved getting them, he wanted Olivia to write to him, he wished he could call her more often – but they were pulling into a port the next day so he would be able to call her soon.

"We're picking our navigators up tomorrow, when we make port," Mike said and Fitz nodded as they walked inot the gym.

"Yeah, don't remind me," Fitz said, there was something comforting about having the teachers with them – Navigators meant that they were flying solo.

"You got nothing to worry about, Fitz," Mike said as Fitz picked up a couple weights and sat at on the side, "You're an amazing flyer. You already beat most of the training records."

"Mmm," Fitz replied.

Being away would be so much easier if he had never met Olivia. Of course he would be miserable, and Mellie would still be buzzing around – but he wouldn't have to miss her so much. He wouldn't mind being away from Mellie and his family, he wouldn't mind being on a city-sized ship thousands of miles away. But Olivia – he couldn't stand it. It didn't help that the last time he saw her he was trying to comfort her, and she was crying because of how badly his father had hurt her. As soon as he had gotten on board all he saw was doing what he had to do to get to Olivia as quickly as possible.

"Hey," said one of the drill sergeants who was traveling with them to the next base, "Grant, Lawson. You boys are supposed to be sleeping for your training tonight."

"We just wanted to fit in a workout, sir," Lawson spoke up as they stood at attention.

"If you boys needed a work out, I am sure that your commanding officer would have fit it in to your schedule," He said, "But instead he gave you sissies a naptime, do you know why that is, Grant?"

"Yes, sir."

"It's so your pretty rich boy ass doesn't get killed tonight trying to fly in the dark," He said, and Fitz nodded, "So we can send your swanky ass back to your parents, and your girl."

"Yes, sir," Fitz said as he and Mike headed back towards their rooms.

Fitz took the advice and tried to go to sleep, but his mind just kept going. He finally fell asleep, and he was with Olivia. They were sitting on the beach in California, he had just walked up behind her – she had been sitting there watching the waves in her bikini. He took her into his arms and kissed her softly. Her fingers ran through his hair and he let his head fall back as she climbed up on top of him and his head hit the sand.

"Mmm," She said, lying down on top of him as his hands went up on her back, wandering freely, "I love you so much, Fitz."

"Oh, God," He breathed as she leaned down, giving him an excellent view, "Livy.."

"I want you so bad, Fitz," She whispered into his ear as she nibbled on it lightly.

"Naw, Livy," He said as reached up her back as he started trying to untie the knot that was keeping her top on as she grinded up against him, "Ah."

Then, there was a loud noise like the engines he had been hearing since he gotten to training, and she jumped off of him. He went to pull her back, but she was too far away. There were fighter jets flying just off shore, doing tricks and flying closer and closer. He looked back over at Olivia, and she was further away.

"I need you Fitz," She was calling to him.

He was trying to get to her his legs stopped working, and he looked down to see why. He was wearing pants instead of his bathing suit now, but they were shredded. There was blood everywhere and he fell into the sand, unable to get up. There was a ripping feeling in his chest – and he was looking up at the sky.

His eyes opened as his alarm clock was blarring, the lights were even still on. He covered his eyes and slammed his hand down on the button that would make the noise stop. He got up out of bed and stretched before throwing on his NAVY t-shirt and a pair of his flight cargo pants. The rest of the equipment was down in the locker room, but he had to run and get some dinner in him before he went to the training session on the top deck.

"Grant!" He heard his name and whipped around as he entered the galley.

"Sir?" Fitz said as his Commander walked over to him.

"One of the senior flight operators is sick," He said and Fitz nodded, "He's down in the medic's wing."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"He'll be fine – but we're one down for the flight tonight," He said, "I was coming to see if you wouldn't mind flying solo tonight."

"Solo? Tonight?"

"Yes, Grant," He said, standing up a little straighter, "Frankly I think that you'll be fine. You've displayed perfect flying since you've arrived. I have all the faith in the world in you. And, if you have any issues I'll be right there on the radio."

"Ah, sir," Fitz replied, trying to figure out a way to talk himself out of it – and his officer slapped him on the back.

"I knew you'd be good for it, Grant," He said, "You're a great Junior Lieutenant. I'm going to talk to the Admiral about you – again. He's really been impressed by the numbers he's been seeing from you. You just wait and see what happens when he hears about this."

"Thank you for the opportunity, Sir," Fitz said, and his Commander nodded.

Fitz couldn't eat dinner, he assumed that a healthy fear of what he was about to do would serve him well. He went up to the locker room. It was just under the take off and landing strip of the carrier. Fitz threw on his flight jacket, and grabbed his helmet, hoping that he didn't look as green and nervous as he felt. He knew that he would have to fly alone eventually, and his flight teachers rarely had to say anything to him during his flights – but he was still terrified. He wasn't qualified to fly a plane all by himself – of course tomorrow they were all going to. He took a deep breath as he headed up to the upper deck. The Commander spoke to all of them, announcing that Fitz would be flying solo – which was exactly what Fitz needed. He took a deep breath, and then climbed into his cockpit.

He was going to be flying in the middle of the group, so that he would be able to just go with the flow, and catch on with what the other instructors were going on. Fitz fixed the picture of Olivia that he kept in the cockpit with him, and then tucked it into the pocket of his jacket – he didn't want any of his gages obscured. Knowing Olivia was there was great, but making sure he was getting back to her was much more important as he got into line for take-off. The flight plan was easy, they were taking-off, doing a loop around the ship, going about ten miles to the port, and then coming back. It was the same plan they had done nearly fifteen times the day before in broad daylight. He took a deep breath, and followed the plane ahead of him and took off into the air.

Once he was in the air, he went into pilot mode. There was no room for fear once he was up there, he checked the gauge a few times, making sure he was heading in the right direction, make sure they were all going in the right direction. He could hear everyone else conferring over the radios. He stayed pretty silent unless answering the Commander about how he was fairing, to which he replied that he was fine. He watched the Horizon until he could see the beacon on the base flashing red telling him that they were almost done. He stayed perfectly in line as they turned around, and headed back to the carrier. That was all fine – it was the landing he was worried about, but it went perfectly.

"Perfect, Grant," said the Commander as Fitz climbed out of his plane, "I can't wait to bring you up with the admiral."

"Thank you, sir," Fitz said, his head down – he hated when he said stuff like that.

"Now I want all you boys in the gym at six am," The Commander announced as the rest of them climbed out of their cock-pits, "Before you help with the loading, then you can take the night off."

Fitz was sitting in his room the next night, about to sit down and write back to Olivia. It would get to her faster if he sent it while he could get to the base and get it into the normal mail. He was in the middle of writing it when Mike and some of the other guys showed up at his open door. The filed in as Fitz stashed his half written letter in the top drawer of his desk.

"This your girl, Fitz?" Mike said, snatching the picture from his nightstand.

"Yeah," Fitz said, hopping up from his seat and wiping the side of his face with his hand.

Some of the guys whistled.

"She's hot, man," said Hank rather thickly, but Fitz nodded.

"She's beautiful."

"So is she a Harvard kid too?" Mike asked him and he shook his head.

"She's going to Yale in the fall," Fitz told them proudly, and Hank chuckled.

"Close enough," He said, and Fitz shrugged.

"Damn though," Lucas said, one of the other guys, "You got that pretty little thing writing you letters almost every day?"

"Yes," Fitz replied as Mike put the picture back down, and then Lucas spoke again.

"We just came down to see if you wanted to go to this bar in town that my buddy told me about," He said.

"Sure," Fitz said, taking a deep breath, "I could go for a couple beers."

"Sweet," said Mike, "We'll see you on the bouy to base in twenty?"

"Of course," Fitz said as they filed out of the room, and he pulled back out the letter to finish it off.

He stuck it in an envelope and put it in his pocket as he dressed in street clothes to go meet up with the guys. He took a quick detour once they were on the base, and dropped the letter in the mail before following the guys out to where there was a taxi awaiting them. It drove them into the next town over from the base, and it was nice to not be within the confines of the boat, or on the base. Within the hour he was sitting at the bar with his beer watching the guys play darts. They had split up in some sort of teams, which had stopped him from going over to join.

"Hey," said a woman as she sat down next to him.

"Hi," He said, smiling kindly at her, then looking back at the game.

"You're with the boys from the base?" She said and he nodded.

"So what're you then?"

"I'm a pilot," He said, taking a sip as he watched Mike hit the bull's-eye on the target – winning the game, "We all are, it's our first night off. I'm gonna go over and see if I can join them for the next game."

He got up and went over to where they were reorganizing the teams and letting Fitz and one of the others who had sat out in. Fitz was lousy at darts, which they seemed overjoyed to find this out. Fitz chuckled as he sat back down after his turn, and Lucas sat down next to him.

"What is it with you?" Lucas said and Fitz looked over at him, confused, "That blonde chick at the bar – she's been looking you over all night. What did she say when she was talking to you earlier?"

"Just asked if I was with you guys," Fitz shrugged.

"C'mon, seriously, you can tell me, I'm not your girl."

"Seriously," Fitz told him, rather shortly.

"Well if you don't go home with her, I don't know what's in your head," He said and Fitz couldn't really believe his ears.

He just got up and headed for the door.

"Grant! Where you going?" Mike called as he was getting to the door.

"Back to the ship," He called back, and Lucas shook his head at him, "We've got to hit the gym at five tomorrow morning – remember, it's hell hung over."

"It's hell anyways," Mike replied and Fitz laughed as he walked out of the bar and to one of the taxi's that was waiting for him.

Fitz got back to base, and looked at the clock to make sure it wasn't too late to still call Olivia. It was almost eleven, she would be home from wherever they had dragged her during the day. He never let her know when he was going to be in port, because he rarely knew. So therefore, any time he got to call her, it was a surprise. He smiled as he walked into where the telephones were for the men lucky enough to be stationed at the base and realized that no one was even in there. He picked up the phone that was closest to the door, and dialed Olivia's number.

"Hello?" Olivia answered – and her voice just about knocked the wind out of him, it had been weeks since he'd heard it, "Hello?"

"Hey, Livy," He breathed.

"Fitz," She said, and he could hear her smile.

"I just got your letter," He said, "And it's not nearly as bad as boot camp, but it's still not home. And there's no way I'm calling Stephen off."

"I miss you."

"I can't wait to be with you again."

"Two more weeks," She said and he smiled.

"I've been checking the days off on my calendar," He said, then chuckled a little, "I'm pathetic, I know."

"Do you have the night off?"

"I do. We get them based on the team's performance, and last night we all did really well – which meant they gave us some free time tonight once we were in port. I was just heading back from the bar," He replied, then smiled slightly, "Hey, Livy, guess what?"

"What?"

"I flew solo last night…"

"What? What did it feel like?"

"Terrifying," He admitted, only to her as one of the guys from the base walked in, "I should go, we have to be in the gym early tomorrow morning."

"Don't go," She whined, and he smirked.

"I'll be home soon, Liv," He said.

"Just talk to me a few more minutes?"

"Ok, I guess I can stay on a little while longer."


	11. Yale

A/N: So, here we go – hope you guys like it :)

Skylines

Chapter Eleven: Yale.

Olivia was sitting on her back porch with a book in her hand as the sun was beating down on her. Her latest letter from Fitz was her bookmark, and it was one of those rare days someone wasn't dragging her off somewhere, or something, but that was probably because Fitz was getting in that evening. Apparently they assumed that she could handle herself for the day, waiting for him to get in. They weren't entirely sure on the flight, so she wasn't going to the airport to pick him up, he told he he would just be there as soon as he could. It was just past ten in the morning, and Olivia was enjoying her peace and quiet, but she could barely contain herself – the time seemed to be going by too slowly – it probably didn't help that she couldn't sleep the night before and ended up giving up at six.

"Olivia," Her mother came out on the porch, and she put her book down.

"Yes, mom?" She asked as she sat down across from her.

"Your father and I are going to the Louis's for their cook out, do you want to come along?" She asked, "Fitz won't be here until like six or seven tonight, right? You can come for a while, I hate to see you just sitting out here waiting for him to show up."

"Ok," Olivia said, getting up, "Let me just go change – wait, the Louis's? The Davis's will be there."

"Edison probably won't be, and even if he is, I'm sure he's over it," Her mother told her.

"Has Mrs. Davis gotten over it yet?"

"You wouldn't give coming with us a second thought if Fitz were here," She pointed out, and Olivia nodded, "Don't worry. I understand that you're with him, honey. I don't exactly understand why, but I understand that you are. I'm not going to try and push you at Edison."

"Ok," Olivia said as she got up, "I'll just go change and I'll be ready to go."

She liked the Louis family a lot, and their parties were always fantastic They had four kids, twins – a boy and a girl - that were her age, and then two little boys that were about six and seven. The little ones were adorable, and loved to show off for their parent's guests. The older girl, Kelly, was on the edges of Olivia's social group, so they could got along fairly well and could carry on a conversation. The boy was more of a mystery to everyone – he had a skateboard and long hair. He kept pretty quiet and to himself.

"Hey Olivia," said Kelly said as she came over and sat with her, people milling around everywhere.

"Kelly, how're you doing?" Olivia asked and Kelly shrugged.

"Getting ready to go to school," She said simply and Olivia nodded.

"When do you have to be there?"

"End of this week," She said and Olivia nodded again.

"I have about a week," Olivia said and it was Kelly's turn to nod, "Which is great because Fitz gets back tonight."

"Oh, you must me so excited," She said, and Olivia smiled, "Where was he? God, he's attractive."

"That he is," Olivia replied, "He's been at special training with the Navy all summer."

"Oh, that's awful," She said and Olivia nodded as Mr. Louis appeared up on the porch.

"The food is served!" He announced.

They got up like most of the other people ot go and grab food from the table up on the deck. Olivia spotted Edison a little ways down the line, and attempted to ignore the fact that he was even there. She checked her watch again for the time. It was almost two, the cook-out was at least making the time pass quicker. She filled her plate, rather awkwardly as they were just behind Edison's parents – and then they went and found seats at a picnic table, digging right into their food.

"Hello, ladies," Edison said as he sat down across from them.

"Hey, Eddie," Kelly said a little awkwardly, looking over at Olivia looking for a signal on how to respond.

"Olivia?"

"Hey," Olivia replied normally, taking a bite of her burger.

"So where's the big man?" Edison said a little aggravatingly.

"Olivia!"

She was saved by her mother calling her over from the corner of the yard. She picked up her plate and carried it over to sit with her parents and their friends for a little bit. When she finished eating and was heading back over to Kelly noticing that Edison had disappeared. It was awkward around him, and she still hadn't quite forgiven him for lying to their parents about what had happened. It didn't really matter to her anymore – she had a real man, and Edison was so far in the past that she didn't even know what she had been thinking staying with him so long.

She stuck around at the party until about six, and then said goodbye and headed home – leaving her parents there with their car. She pulled into the driveway and took a deep breath. There was a fire at the party, so to kill time until Fitz got there she decided to hop into the shower and wash up quick. Her parents had lifted a curfew for the night, but she didn't really think they would be going anywhere – and if they did they would just go to his place to hang out – which her parents had very cautiously told her it was fine if she slept there for the night. All she wanted to do was take him and never let her out of her arms.

She got out of the shower, and went into her room. She threw on a dress that she and Abby had picked out for Fitz's homecoming. She smiled as she put on a little makeup and fixed her hair. She was just finishing up when she heard a knocking on the door – and she nearly fell down the stairs trying to get down to him. She just about fell out of the front door and saw him, standing there waiting for her – leaning against the front of his car. She couldn't tell if it was his uniform or what, but he looked somehow better than he had when he left. His perfect smile made her want to scream as she ran across the driveway to him.

"Livy," He breathed as she flung herself into his arms, her face nuzzling into the side of his neck.

"Fitz," She smiled as she clung to him, "I missed you so much."

"I can'r believe I'm finally back here with you," he replied as he kissed the top of her head, and she stepped down, "Makes me want to finally…"

He leaned in and kissed her, softly at first as he wrapped her back up in his arms. He very slowly deepened the kiss, feeling her hands running through the back of his hair borderline frantically as he leaned back and sat on the car again, pulling her into his lap.

"Fitz," Olivia uttered breathlessly as she broke away from him for air, leaning over so that her mouth was by his ear.

He deferred his kisses down the side of her neck sensually until her got down to her collar bone, where he wrapped his mouth around the bone. He sucked at it lightly, biting at it as carefully as he could so that he wouldn't leave a mark as she moaned softly in his ear. She felt shivers running through her as he pulled away and softly kissed the spot, then kissed him quickly.

"So what're we doing?" He asked, her hopping down from the car, still holding onto his hands, "I'm sorry I'm still in my uniform – I was going to stop at the apartment and change, but I couldn't wait to see you. I came straight from the plane."

"I don't mind," She smiled, reaching up and fixing his hair as he just gazed at her – the way he looked at her made her want to just climb back up into his lap.

He chuckled.

"I feel a little like an ass," He said, letting go of her hand to rub her leg, just below the hem of her dress.

"So why don't we go up to your place, you can change, then we can cuddle and watch a movie," She suggested, and he smiled.

"We'll pick up a movie on the way?" He checked, and she chuckled.

"It doesn't matter," She said, fixing his collar, and smiling at him as she finished up fixing his hair.

"I love you," He half chuckled, "But shouldn't I at least say hi to your parents?"

"Fitz, I love you – more than anything," She said, pressing her forehead against his, "I'm not sharing you."

"Well that I have to agree with you," He said, leaning in and kissing her softly, "I'm not sharing you either, at least for a few weeks. I just thought it would be best to at least see them before I whisk you away."

"Fine, they're a few streets over at a cookout," She said, then smiled, "Does this mean I get to show you off?"

"Sure," He chuckled as they got into the car.

Olivia was more than happy to parade Fitz into the cookout, and then very quickly back out. She was exhausted from not sleeping the night before, and she fell asleep on the way to the apartment, her head up on his shoulder. She felt so much more at ease now that he was there with her – and she couldn't be happier. She attempted to sit up once he pulled into the parking lot for his building. He chuckled at her a little.

"I'll just carry you in," He told her as he shut off the car.

"No, you have bags and stuff," She said, climbing out of the car more than a little sleepily.

"Are you ok?" He asked, as he walked around and grabbed his bags from the trunk, coming up next to her.

"I'm just tired," She said as he took her hand and started leading her towards the building, "I didn't sleep well last night."

"Naw," He said as he leaned over and kissed the side of her head, "I'm sorry. I didn't sleep either though."

They walked into the apartment, and went straight into Fitz's room. Olivia crawled right onto the bed as Fitz put his bags down in the corner and flipped on the TV in the corner. Smiled as he looked over at her, and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach as she tried to block out the many dreams that she had had that had started out the same way. He was leaning over the bags, assuming that she was looking over at the TV, but instead she couldn't peel her eyes off of his ass. He turned around with a gray shirt in his hands, effectively catching her with a smirk.

"Really?" He asked and she smiled innocently as he tossed her the shirt, "That's for you."

"What is -?" She opened it up – it was his NAVY shirt, and it smelled so perfectly like him, "Seriously?"

"It's for you," he smiled as he slid onto the bed, taking her into his arms, "I thought you might like it – I mean, and this."

"Fitz, enough with the presents," She said as he took a small package out of the pocket of his pants.

"Just open it while I go change to be a little comfier," He said as he kissed the side of her head and threw himself off the bed, throwing her a pair of his sweat pants as he went into the bathroom to change.

She smiled as she slipped out of her dress and put on his t-shirt, and pants. She smiled at how comfortable they were, and climbed into bed, snuggling up under the covers – even though it was summer, the air conditioning in his apartment made it absolutely freezing. His bed sort of smelled like him, but she couldn't tell if it was actually the sheets or his clothes on her – she didn't care either way.

"Well I'd be lying if I said I never had a dream that started off like this," He smiled charmingly as he walked back out into the bedroom.

"Was that a reference to a dirty dream?" Olivia teased him as he climbed into bed with her, pulling her into his arms.

"You're freezing," He said as he snuggled her up close.

"Your air conditioning is blasting," She replied and he chuckled as he ran his hand up and down her arm under the covers.

"I'm sorry," She told her as he leaned down and kissed her softly, "Do we have to watch something, or can we just snuggle until I fall asleep? It's really not going to take that long."

"That's fine with me," He chuckled, scooting down and holding her as close as he could.

The next week was great, Olivia was finally just so happy to be able to have a little bit of summertime with Fitz. She couldn't help but cling to him for the entirety of it. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind at all. They were playing with fire though, and Olivia knew it. The distance had been very kind to them, but at the same time cruel. Having missed each other for so long, the tension between them that was there before was so tangible she was surprised that she had been able to keep herself from tearing his clothes off so far. From the vibes she was getting from him, she got the feeling that he was working just as hard to keep himself under control – to hold out as long as possible. She wanted him, and knowing that she wasn't the only one who had had a few dirty dreams starring the two of them wasn't at all helping.

Before she knew it they were waking up early on a Saturday morning to move her into Yale. She woke up first, nervous for the next four years that she was going to spend there. Fitz, though his car was small, showed up to help them move. He threw what he could in his car, and they caravanned it all the way. Olivia led the way, Fitz just behind her, and her parents just after him. Abby wasn't moving in until Sunday night, so Fitz was going to very subtly stay the night with her.

"Hey, let me help you with that," Fitz said as they got out outside her Dorm, and her father was trying to carry in one of her clothes bags.

"I'm ok with this," He replied as Olivia grabbed her box of bedding, "But can you grab the TV?"

"Sure," Fitz said, going over and picking it up as her mother ran ahead and opened all doors for them.

She very happily walked right up to the door that she would be sharing with Abby and opened it with the key that she had just gotten. She had already put it on her keychain off her wallet that held her school ID. She walked into the room and quickly claimed the bed by the window as her's – setting the box of bedding down on top of the mattress as her mother put down the box she had been carrying of her shoes on the desk.

"Olivia, how're you planning on organizing your desk?" She asked and Olivia shrugged.

"I'm sure I'll figure out a system," She told her as Fitz and her father walked into the room.

"Where do you want it Livy?" Fitz asked, and Olivia pointed to the corner, and he put it down on top of the wardrobe on her side of the room.

He went to work plugging it in as her mother went to make the bed. She went over and dragged the bag of her clothes over to the wardrobe. Her father ran down to get her books and her movies, and Fitz just about tripped over the wires to go help him. Olivia finished putting ther clothes away, and went in on her shoes as her mother started putting some of her snacks away in the little crate they had brought for them. Olivia went and fixed the arrangement on her bed as her father walked back into the room with her books, and Fitz carrying her box of favorite movies, and her school books.

"Thank you," Olivia said as they finished off settling in, and her parents nodded.

"We should get started driving back," Her father said, and Olivia nodded as she hopped off her bed and went to hug each of them – Fitz back working on getting the TV hooked up.

"I love you guys," Olivia said, hugging them both as they started to head out the door.

"Be safe, no wild college parties," Her mother said as they were walking out the door, "I want you to try and call us at least once a week, ok?"

"Ok."

"Make sure this door's locked tonight, ok?" Her father said, and she nodded.

"Of course," She said, "I love you, Daddy."

She waited until they were most of the way down the hall, and then turned to Fitz as she shut the door. He smiled at her as he got up from where he had been working behind the wardrobe – having just finished setting up the VCR. He smiled as he opened up his arms, crossing the room in less than five strides, and took her right up into his arms. She buried her face into his chest, then smiled up at him.

"I love you," She smiled up at him, and he chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her softly.

"I love you too," He said, tucking a bit of her hair back behind her ear, "I think your parents are starting to like me more."

"My father adores you," Olivia told him ,"Even if he's afraid to admit it."

"Oh, he admitted it," He replied, "A while ago – but while you were busy organizing your clothes – I think your mother gave us some sort of weird blessing."

"Seriously?" Olivia said, "Well she's always kinda leaned for us."

"I can't believe you've already been here a week," Olivia said, and he nodded, "They're going to ship you off soon."

"Not necessarily," He replied, "If anything I'll probably end up back in Virginia."

"We should get some dinner," Olivia said, she didn't want to talk about him going away again.

"Or we could order in," He breathed, his hands slipping down to her hips as he kissed the crook of her neck.

"Ah, Fitz," she said, and he groaned lowly as he felt her press up against him.

"I'll call for a pizza later, and we'll stay in."

There was something in his voice that made her knees go weak, and she felt herself losing it a little bit. She had to put her arms up around his neck for support, which he very gladly gave her. He put one hand down low, on the small of her back as he kissed up the side of her neck tenderly, his other hand slipping up her back to gingerly brush against the back of her neck.

"Fitz," She breathed as if she couldn't get enough air and he lifted her up onto the bed.

He was hovering above her. She was lying on her back, and there was no point in holding onto him for support anymore and they fell to her sides. For a second she just let him lean over her, kissing down the side of her neck, nipping at the front as his hands started to roam around her stomach, down to her hips, then back up to ghost over her rib cage – a particularly sensitive area for her, and she let her eyes close. She felt her skin tingle even with him working over the fabric, and she murmured happily.

"Mmm, Livy," He said as she reached down and pulled his shirt off over his head in one swift movement.

"I love you so much," She breathed as she traced the lines in his chest with the very tips of her fingers – looking up into his face.

"God that feels good," He breathed heavily as she dropped her hand, and he tugged on the bottom hem of her shirt.

Olivia nodded, and for the first time Fitz dragged her shirt up and over her head so that she was lying underneath him in just her bra. He looked down at what had just been revealed to him, and then dove down. He kissed her stomach, playfully nipping at her sides, causing her to take sharper and sharper breathes as on hand caressed the side of her neck and the other ran softly up and down her leg.

"You're so beautiful, Livy," He breathed into her ear as he ran both his hands down her sides simultaneously.

She moaned slightly as he started to flick his fingers around the back clasp of her bra. He paused, waiting for permission as she gazed up at him, her hand going up and brushing some of his hair off his forehead. He was just about to let go, and she could see it in his face. He was being more polite than he wanted to be – she could see the passion and desire – the lust – it was all burning through his eyes down at her and she shivered. She wanted him, she didn't want to wait any longer – and neither did he. He would – if she told him too, but she wouldn't – she couldn't. All the time that he was away she had wanted him there, to hold her, to talk to her, to love her. She brought her hands down to the button on his jeans, and he pulled back for a second.

"Are you sure?" He breathed, his voice husky, and he didn't even bother trying to mask it.

"Positive," She said, undoing the button, and carefully unzipping him, "Fitz…"

"Yes?" He said as she struggled to push them down, he lifted himself up trying to help her as he reached down and slipped her jeans off with as much ease as he could figure.

"I need you," She said as he kicked his jeans off his ankles and they landed with his shirt somewhere on the floor – he pushed her jeans off the end of the bed, "I'm yours – make love to me, Fitz."


	12. Family Weekend

A/N: Ok guys, read the whole chapter before you crucify me, because we're not exactly picking up where we left off – and keep in mind that I like to keep my stories T, because I'm not sure why, but I do - hopefully I found a good enough balance for you guys. Also, simply put the pace of the story. Also I wanted to say sorry for the wait, I'm having laptop difficulties - but the chapter is really long so that should make up for some of it... Enjoy (:

Skylines

Chapter Twelve: Family Weekend

Fitz was back down in Virginia before he could really turn around. While he and Olivia had had a slightly less chaotic goodbye, it was still somehow just as sad. He would miss her even more this time around, but he was gone for less time consecutively – which was good. He had left the last week in September, and would be able to go back a little before Christmas, actual Christmas he was set to be on the boat – but at least they could have some semblance of a Christmas – even if they did have it early, and go to California to visit his family, the only way he would be able to see Ari.

He sat in his bunk, they had given him the same one as when he was there for special training. They were just doing border control as of recently. They were flying to the edge of the coastline. They had been too far from the base to make routine trips in, so he and a few of the others flew into port every couple days to get supplies as well. Now they were technically in port – and Fitz was getting ready to spend a couple days on land in one of the rooms on base. Plain out, he was clocking a lot of airtime, and it was almost getting routine. Meanwhile, his commander kept saying more and more about him to the admiral, who had invited him to a couple of the captain's dinners on board the carrier.

But now he had a little while to himself. He took a deep breath, looking over at his picture of him and Olivia standing on his nightstand. All that was running through his brain was Olivia, and the morning before he had to go – the way they had woken up in his apartment, naked and entangled in his sheets. Somehow it had reminded him too perfectly of the first time he had woken up that way. He remembered it all perfectly:

"Good morning, Livy," He had smiled down at her in his arms – the night before still fresh in his mind as he gazed down at her.

"Morning, Baby," She breathed as the sun hit the side of her face, her hand going up into the side of his hair and he couldn't help but swoop down and steal a kiss.

"Baby?" He questioned she played with the hair on his chest, and he ran his hands around her hip under the sheets.

"My baby," She said as ran her hand up his chest, neck, and into his curly hair, smiling with pleasure as his finger tips run little circles on her inner thigh.

"Well I thought that was already blatantly obvious," He smirked a little, watching the effect it had on the way she was looking at him as he slipped his hand around to hold onto her hip again.

"Last night was amazing," She told him, and he smiled as she rolled over and cuddled herself up beside him, effectively pressing her naked body right up against his.

"It was," He agreed, leaning down and kissing her softly, he could feel himself wanting her again, so intensely that he thought he might take her again, right there – he wrenched his lips from her's, "I can't believe that we managed to wait that long – I love you so much. I wish I could just wake up like this from now on, every day."

She smiled as he rolled them over, so that he had her pinned to the bed.

"I would love that," She replied as he leaned down and kissed down the side of her neck, then arched his back and moved down as he moved to kiss down the rest of her body.

"I love you," He breathed, similarly to the way he had the night before as he pulled himself back up to eye level, slowly arranging his weight so that he could lay on top of her without hurting her.

"Why do you have to go away again?" Olivia asked and he sighed heavily.

"Can we not think about that right now?" He whispered it in almost a growl.

"Ok," She smiled and he grinned as he kissed her ear softly, "That sounds perfect."

He smirked as he leaned in and kissed her.

"There will be plenty of nights like last night, and mornings like this one – I promise you," He told her and she chuckled.

"Mornings like this one?"

"Well, like this morning is about to be," He breathed as he leaned down and started nipping at her flesh.

"Fitz, Abby and her dad are going to be getting here in like fifteen minutes," Olivia informed him and he pulled his head up, pouting.

"Seriously?"

"I'm afraid so," She replied, "But next time? We'll be at your place, ok?"

"Or Abby will be home for the weekend?"

"Ok," She said as he leaned in and kissed her again.

"Ok."

Fitz shook himself out of his daze as he sat up in his bunk. He needed to be able to give himself tunnel vision again like he had during Special Training. He couldn't keep dazing off and thinking about Olivia the way he was. Thinking about how perfect it was to lay in bed with her, with nothing covering them but the covers they were underneath. It seemed harmless enough has he had the weekend off, and it was family weekend. He had sent Olivia her plane ticket about a month ago. But she wasn't there yet, she was coming in tonight. He shook his head, and tried to think about the flight mission he was going on in about an hour. Then he would be allowed to take a small boat over to base with a few other guys, and then go and get Olivia at the airport – so he would finally be free for the weekend to have his Livy with him.

He yawned, stretched, and started getting ready for the mission. He had never in his life thought that he would ever be as comfortable as he was getting in the air. He smiled to himself as he threw on his flying stuff, and headed up to the deck. His mission didn't take him all that long at all. Patrolling the boarder looking for anything that looked out of place was somewhat trivial – but the view was absolutely beautiful – particularly in the evening as he was flying. The colors in the sky were just perfect – and he wondered vaguely if he would be able to take Olivia up – though he figured it wasn't allowed, and wasn't about to ask.

As soon as he had taxied himself over to the air hangar to leave his plane there for the night he hopped out of the cockpit. He was working on somewhat of a tight schedule as he took his helmet off and wiped the sweat off his brow. He tossed his helmet back into his seat and closed up the plane as he heard an authoritative voice coming up behind him. It was one he was surprised to hear, but not the worst one he could have in that moment.

"Lieutenant Grant," the Admiral said and Fitz spun around and stood at attention.

"Yes sir, Admiral?" He replied and the admiral smiled somewhat proudly at him.

"At ease, Grant," the Admiral said casually, "That was one hell of a flight, son."

"It's not a difficult flight," Fitz told him, "Everyone around here does it pretty often, sir."

"Yes, but you are a superb flyer," the Admiral insisted, "The best one under my command, and still continuing to improve nicely if I do say so."

"Well thank you, sir," Fitz caved, not wanting to seem like a jerk or to talk himself out of a second compliment that the Admiral was so persistent in giving him.

"None needed," He replied as he took a deep breath, "You were given this weekend off for family weekend I believe?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have anyone coming?"

"My girlfriend's flight lands in an hour," Fitz replied with a bit of a smile, "I was just about to go and get ready to pick her up at he airport. The Commander fixed it up so we can stay on base in port."

"Oh well then I won't hold you up, son," He said as he took another deep breath, "I just came to find you to see if you wouldn't mind flying a demonstration tomorrow afternoon for the families."

"Sure," Fitz told him apprehensively.

"Good. Knew I could count on you, Grant. You can fly your plane right over to base tonight. It'll be faster and you'll need it anyways," He said and Fitz nodded, "And why don't you and your girl come around dinner at my place tonight. Street clothes will be fine. Just try and be there around seven-thirty? I promise I won't keep you your whole night off."

"Thank you, sir," Fitz replied, and the Admiral walked off somewhat happily.

As soon as he was out of sight Fitz took off for the showers. Olivia knew that a car was coming for her to bring her to base - she just didn't know that he would be picking her up personally in his dress blues. He guessed he was going to have to change before thy went to dinner but he didn't really care. He had a plan for receiving Olivia and he was sticking to it. He got out of the shower and got dressed as he threw enough clothes for the weekend into a bag and then threw his flight stuff into another for the demonstration.

Somehow he managed to be pulling into the airport at exactly the right time that he had been banking on. He parked his car, which he had driven down ao that he could have it when they went into port, and he grabbed the single red rose he had stopped for on the way there. He checked his watch as he got out of the car - her plane had just landed. He smiled as he got out of the car and leaned against the side of it, waiting for her as he held the rose like a Champaign glass by his side.

He watched the sliding glass doors in front of him rather impatiently. He had missed her so much while he had been stuck down there, the family weekend and the time off was heaven sent as far as he was concerned. He had no doubt the Admiral had something to do with him being able to participate and he was thankful, but it wouldn't be real until he saw his Livy walking out of the airport and into his arms. He kept watching, like a hawk, trying to get the first possible glimpse of her that he could.

Finally, there she was walled towards the door and dragging her suitcase along after herself. Fitz could have just about burst out of his skin. She looked at beautiful as ever. Her hair was down and laying perfectly over her shoulders. She had an amazing little dress on and was all done up - she was even wearing the diamond tennis bracelet that he had given her his first night back from training. Did that mean she was now accepting gifts again? He he was so happy to finally just have her in his sight again that he just watched her. She didn't notice him standing there when she came out - she wasn't looking for him, and he had to work on the need to disturb her as she stood there on the curb so beautifully.

"Liv!" He finally called out to her and she whipped around immediately and looked right at him.

"Fitz," She beamed as she ran over to him and he wrapped one arm around her as he offered her up a flower with the other, "Thank you. Why didn't you tell me you were picking me up?"

"Because I wanted to surprise you,"He replied as he leaned in and kissed her softly.

"You're always surprising me," She said it like an accusation, but he just sort of shrugged it off.

"I love you," He told her, "I'm just happy that you're here with me."

"Me too," She said as she snuggled into his chest a little bit, "Ugh, Fitz, you're so bulky. How much have you been working out? You need to slim down, baby."

"There's not much to do on the ship, Liv," He replied, as he took hr bag from her and put it into his trunk, "The guys all go to the bars on nights off, and I'd rather not so I go to the gym and write you instead."

He didn't want to get into the exact reasoning as to why he didn't go to the bars with them, and he was thankful that his excuse was acceptable to her. He had only gone the once with them during training and Lucas had without a doubt scared him into not wanting to go again. He could get drunk, if he so wished, and at a certain point one of the guys might be able to influence him. He ould never cheat on Olivia, but he might get agitated enough with one of the guys to do some damage to one of them. If he knew he had anything it was a temper.

He rarely ever showed it, especially when Olivia was around, but he could go from zero to furious in about ten seconds. It was a hard place to get him to, but it could happen if you said or did the wrong thing. It had gotten so much better once he had started dating Liv, but before he was a much different person. He did many things that he regretted, like fucking Mellie within his rage. She never knew it, but the only reason he ever really touched her was furious with something either his father or her father had done or said. He had tried to get back at them, all of them. He wasn't proud of it - he wished he hadn't especially now. He hadn't waited for Liv. She didn't say she minded, and he knew she really probably didn't - but he did.

"Well then we need to get you some good books," Olivia told him as they put on their seatbelts, "You can't spend this much time in the gym. You're going to turn yourself into a meat-head. Stephen would have a fit to see you this bulky."

"You've been hanging out with Stephen?" He asked and she nodded as she squeezed his hand.

"I didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Stephen and Abby are together."

"How long?" Fitz asked, shocked that Stephen would actually he in a committed relationship

"About a month."

That was a record for him.

"That's great," He smiled as she leaned over and snuggled into his arm, "So the Admiral, the big boss, he asked us over to his place for dinner."

"That sounds fine - as long as it's food. I'm starving," Olivia said as he pulled into the base, waving to the guard as he passed him, "What do i wear?"

"You aren't changing a thing," He replied as he leaned over and kissed her softly, "You look absolutely breathtaking, I want to take you over to the ship and show you off. I will be anyways some of the other guys got leave for the weekend too. I just have to change though, out of my dress blues."

"I love you so much," She smiled as she put her hand up on the side of his face and pulled him into a kiss, "I'm sorry if i gave you too much crap about the gym. You just look like you're bordering on too much muscle."

"I understand," He said as they got ot of the car and he grabbed her bag from the back - and really it didnt bother him, the guys had said much worse.

He took her hand and led her into the base, her just simply carrying the rose. So many of the guys' heads turned as they walked to the room that he lost count. The first guy who did he shot a glare at that made him go back a little but by the time they were passing the nightly poker games in the lounge he just gave up. He got to the room door as quickly as possible and shut the door. Luckily Livy was oblivious to what had happened which made him feel oddly happy as he set her bag by his - she always managed to notice when he was watching.

"Fitz, I missed you so much," She said as she relaxed on the bed - watching him change out of his dress clothes and into Kakhi's and a really nice sweater.

"I bet," He smirked as he turned around - just standing there in front of her in his boxers.

"That's not... entirely what i meant," She replied, "I did miss that too, but I just plain out missed you more."

"I know," He said as he pulled up his pants and grabbed his belt, starting to loop it through his belt loops, "I missed you the same way. I missed waking up next to you and being able to just spend the day with you, in bed or out of. Preferably out of... That's what night time is for."

He finished speaking as he pulled his sweater over his head and reached out for her hand. He led her back out of the room and out towards the little house just on the outskirts of the base where the Admiral lived with his wife and son - Nick - who was about five. Fitz had seen him a couple of times, when his Commander had asked him to pick some things up from the Admiral while he was picking up supplies for the carrier. He was a little guy with big brown eyes and a big mop of brown hair. He was full of energy - which is probably why Fitz never saw the wife. He probably just saw the boy when his mother was taking a break and the Admiral was keeping an eye on him. He was just hoping that his wife would greet Olivia kindly, though he wasn't sure why she wouldn't. She would remember being away like they were, right? Besides, it would be nice for one of the people he introduced her to liked her.

"Fitz," Olivia whispered, and he squeezed her hand as they walked up to the door.

"Yes?" He replied.

"What am I supposed to talk about with these people?"

"Talk about whatever you like," Fitz told her as he rang the doorbell, "The Admiral is a really nice guy - I'm sure his wife is fine, too."

"Grant," The Admiral opened the door happily, stepping aside to let him and Olivia walk into the house.

"Hello, Sir," Fitz replied as the Admiral shut the door behind them, "This is my girlfriend, Olivia. Olivia, this is Admiral Harrison."

"Nice to meet you, Olivia," the Admiral smiled as he shook Olivia's hand - then led them into the dining room, "Marge's cooking up a storm. How do you feel about steak, Grant? Better than ship food?"

"That sounds delicious," Fitz replied honestly as they walked into the dining room, and they sat down.

"Anything's better than ship food?" He smiled kindly, then looked to Olivia, "I'm sorry, but this one's pretty quiet about you - I don't really know anything about you. Well except for the other boys in his squad teasing him."

"Don't tell me he's gotten quieter," Olivia looked over at Fitz with a little smirk, and he felt his heart palpitate a little more, "Well I'm a Freshman at Yale, and that's pretty much about it - I'm pretty boring, actually."

"I don't believe that," He said as his wife walked out of the kitchen door behind him, carrying the food to the table as she called for Nick to come to the table, "Marge, sweetie, you've heard me talk about Grant. And this is his girlfriend, Olivia."

"Nice to meet you both," Marge smiled as she sat down next to her husband and across from them, "You just say you were going to Yale?"

"Yes," Olivia replied.

"Oh, that must be hell being so far away all the time," Marge sympathized, and Olivia nodded, "I remember when I was at school and Peter was down here - it was awful."

"I miss him, but there's only so much you can do about that."

"Now I refuse to believe that the woman who has so thoroughly captured the attention of my best Lieutenant, my best flyer, is boring," said the Admiral, "What's your major, sweetheart?"

"I'm prelaw," She said and they both smiled.

"Well there you go," He said, looking over at Fitz with a smile, "I bet she's smart as a whip."

"Smarter," Fitz replied as he leaned over and kissed the side of her head.

"What's this about the best flyer?" Olivia asked, and Fitz shrugged.

"What? You haven't written home about that, Grant?" the Admiral asked, and Fitz shook his head, "Your guy is my go to guy if I need to get anything done. He's the best flyer on the base - I'll have to look at the numbers again, but I think he's the best one we've got overall. That's why he's flying the demonstration tomorrow."

"Really?" Olivia raised her eyebrows at him and he shrugged.

The rest of the dinner went on as nicely as Fitz wished it could go with his parents. Fitz got a rush watching Olivia talking to Nick, he thought it was absolutely adorable. After dinner Marge put Nick to bed, and they sat around talking - mostly the Admiral talking about how he thought Fitz would be rising through the ranks pretty quickly - right up until he wasn't going to be flying anymore, because he wasn't going to lose his best flyer. By the time they left the house, Olivia was completely exhausted from her day at school, her flight, and then just being out and about with him. They headed straight back to the room they would share for the weekend - and Fitz was happy to see that most of the guys who had been hanging around had gone out - probably to the bar.

"You're flying a demonstration tomorrow?" She asked and he nodded as he watched her sort of collapse onto the bed, then followed suit.

"Believe me, it's even safer than our routine flights," He told her and she smiled as he leaned in and kissed her briefly, "It'll take ten minutes, tops. Then you have me for the rest of the day and most of Sunday before I have to stick you back on a plane."

"I'm so tired," She breathed, "I don't even think i have enough energy to take my own clothes off."

"I think I can definitely help you there," He replied, smiling mischievously as he he reached down and started playing with the bottom hem of her dress.

"Baby," She smiled, reaching up and running her hand through his hair.

The next morning Fitz woke up like he would for any other day of the week at six, but it wasn't any other day of the week. It was Saturday, he had it off, and he was waking up all tangled up in his Livy. He smiled to himself as he leaned down and kissed the top of her sleeping head softly. Then he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, he didn't have the demonstration until one, so he was more than content to stay there in bed with her as long as she would put up with it. He woke up again at ten to see that she had woken up too. He leaned up and kissed her softly.

"Mmm," She smiled as he pulled away and she nestled herself up close to him under the sheets, "I love you."

"I love you too," He told her, his hand running circles over her back.

They stayed in bed together until it got to be about noon, and then they showered and got ready for the demonstration. He walked her down to lunch, promising that he would take her out, off base, for dinner and then let her sit with Mike and his girlfriend as he headed over to the landing strip where his plane was. He geared up right there next to it, and then hopped into the cockpit, where he could hear his Commander's voice from the carrier. He didn't have to pay much attention to it - but still it was weird to him. He waited for the Admiral's ok, then headed over for the the take off space - then he was in the air.

He flew up over the crowd, did a loop, some fancy air moves, then headed back for the landing strip. The whole flight time was supposed to be about five minutes, which he had gone just over as he spotted the runway and went to land. He spotted a few people waiting on the side, and smiled a little bit as he landed, went and parked his plane, then hopped out of the cockpit. As soon as his feet were on the ground, and before he could even turn around from taking his helmet off there were arms around him - but they felt wrong. He threw his helmet up into the cockpit as he turned to see what was going on and a flash went off. He stepped back and out of the embrace as he realized what was going on. His father, and a reporter were standing not too far behind Mellie, who would have been the one with her arms around him.

"What the hell are you two doing down here?" Fitz asked, looking around for Olivia.

"It's family weekend, you didn't think I'd miss it?" His father asked with a little smirk as Fitz spotted Olivia - from the look on her face she hadn't missed anything.

"No, I don't understand why you brought her, though."

"Fitzy, c'mon," Mellie said as Fitz started walking away - they followed him, the reporter hanging back.

"Would you both just leave me alone?" He asked as he lost where Olivia was - he assumed she had run off, "I have to find Olivia. I can't believe you two - well actually I can - but seriously? It's not even a hint that you have to take, I'm being quite clear. I don't want anything to do with her, and I'm starting to not want anything to do with you either, Dad. Excuse me."

Fitz took off into the crowd, trying to figure out where Olivia would have gone. He needed to explain what had happened - and he didn't even have time to change out of his flight clothes. He took off towards the room, trying to head her off - but when he got there the door was wide open. She was inside, repacking her bags, and he sighed as he walked in.

"I didn't know they were coming," Fitz told her and she nodded - a few tears coming down her face - and he shut the door, "I swear, Livy. And whatever they were trying to pull out there, I'm sorry I let it happen - I didn't know..."

"Whatever, Fitz," Olivia replied, "I don't know what I was thinking..."

"Hey. Hey. Hey," He said, as he sat down on the bed, looking up at her, "I love you. I'm sorry that this happened - but trust me I had no idea. Livy, I love you. I don't want anyone else, ever. I just want you - and I'm sorry my family keeps hurting you. But - please don't leave."

"I hate this," She said as she fell into his arms, and he nodded.

"Me too."

"You're mine, I wanted that moment with you - when you were getting out of the plane," She said, "Mike brought me over there so I could see you get out - and then I saw them. Who was that with them?"

"A reporter my dad's always dragging around."

"So that picture he took?"

"It'll be on a magazine or something, yes," Fitz replied and Olivia looked as if she was going to start crying again - he kissed her instead, "I'm so so sorry, Livy. I promise you, this sort of thing will never happen again."

"It shouldn't have happened the first time," She replied, angrier than he had seen her, and he nodded.

"Please stay the rest of the weekend?"

"Where would I go? I'm in love with you, I can't go - even as bad as I want to and should," She replied, as if she was saying that she was sad that she was so in love with him, "I'm not going anywhere, no matter how much I want to right now."


	13. A Good Surprise

A/N: Hey guys, so as I was originally planning on posting the last chapter last night, I figured I'd update tonight too (Plus a little OLITZ happiness(ish) is never out of place)... hope you guys enjoy the chapter :)

Skylines

Chapter Thirteen: A Good Surprise

Olivia was sitting with Abby and Stephen in the common room outside Harrison's room waiting for him. When they arrived there was a magazine sitting on the coffee table that had been mysteriously missing from Abby and Olivia's at Yale. It was surprising to Olivia because it was a magazine that Abby had a subscription was even more surprising when they walked into the common room and Stephen nearly flung it across the room.

It didn't matter, she had seen it before Abby had hid it in her bag when they went and got their mail. She had seen it in the line at the grocery store, and right then she was seeing it under the bookshelf where it had landed when Stephen had thrown it in an attempt to keep it out of her view. He had succeeded, she could no longer see it, but she knew it was there, and she knew what the cover was. It was Governor Grant running for reelection again and so the cover was, she was sure, mostly his doing. It was a close up of Mellie clinging to Fitz as Jerry was looking on approvingly in the background.

She took a deep breath as she looked back over at Abby and Stephen. Fitz's approval ratings with Abby and Harrison had gone down the tubes. They couldn't believe that his family could be that horrible and they couldn't forgive Fitz for letting it happen so easily. Stephen on the other hand had stuck up for him a little bit - of course, not in front of Abby. He had caught up with her as she was leaving her building earlier that week.

"Liv," He had called as he ran to catch up with her, and she got the distinct feeling that be had been waiting for her.

"What's up, Stephen?" She asked as he walked along with her towards the dining halls.

"I just wanted to talk to you about the whole thing with Uncle Jerry," He said, "There was a lot of Fitz bashing going on in you and Abby's common room last night and i realize it wasn't you really and that he deserves every word of it - but please don't hold this against him as unforgivable."

"Stephen I don't want to-"

"Just listen to me, Liv," Stephen said, "I understand where Abby and Harrison are coming from here, I do. And believe me the last thing I want for you is his family to hurt you like this. I'm on both sides so please just hear me out?"

"Sure," Olivia told him as the veered away from the usual path to the dining commons and off towards a loop around the main campus.

"I noticed you didn't say much last night, and I think it was because you realize the kind of people my Uncle, and sometimes my Aunt, are. They're scavengers and snakes and politicians of the worst variety. You and I both know they've attached all their hopes and dreams and plans onto Fitz. They would probably feed me and Arianna to piranhas if it was what was standing in the way of what they had planned for Fitz and they knew no one would find out."

Olivia chuckled a bit, even though it wasn't that funny. Stephen was right of course, he had his Aunt and Uncle pegged. Something told her that he had had them down to a science for a very long time, too, maybe his parents had discussed it over with him at some point.

"The reason I say that Fitz deserves the flack he's getting is because he should have known that his father was going to try and pull something," Stephen continued as they went and sat down on the steps to one of the buildings.

"So what's the point?" Olivia asked, "They're never going to accept me for Fitz, and how is it worth it? Sure it's amazing when I have him here with me. But this humiliation? From his family? And I'm so sick of missing him, Stephen - I didn't sign on for this. I'm missing him so much that it hurts, and it's not like I'm even really welcome in his life - or so says his family."

"It's four years, Liv - he's only got two left. Don't pass him up because of that, you know better than that. Liv, he loves you and he wants you, just you, trust me," Stephen told her, "I'm trying to tell you not to get discouraged. This is what they do, it's nothing personal, and it's nothing new. They're a powerful family and they don't like being stood up to. The fact that Uncle Jerry felt the need to get off his ass for once and go down there, that's just saying what a threat he thinks you are to his plan."

"But Fitz wants the same endgame," Olivia replied, "What if I really am screwing it all up for him?"

"Please, Olivia," Stephen said, "He's doing very well in the Navy, do you know why he's doing so well? All he wants to do is get back here to you, and because he stopped going to the bars because the guys were all egging him on to cheat. You have no idea how much he's changed - for the better - since he started seeing you. You were commenting the other night how much I've changed since I started dating Abby? You have no idea the person that Fitz was before he met you. Sure he was always kind on the surface, never wanted to see an innocent person upset - but he was so angry and bitter. He was on his way to nowhere, and fast. He drank possibly about the same as I did, but it wasn't for fun it was just out of being so miserable. He was power hungry but almost in a destructive way. He was a monster, basically. From the time we were sixteen to when he met you - well let's just say I'm happy to have my cousin back. He's so much better now, before he was so dark and just plain depressed but now he's good. That's all your doing - I don't know how you did it, but I'm incredibly thankful. Which is why I can't just sit by and watch you start to give up."

"Stephen, I don't know how much more of stuff like that I can take," She replied, "I can't just continuously let them hurt me like this. And i'm not like you and Fitz. I didnt grow up in a house like that. I don't have thick skin, and I don't think I should have to grow it either."

"Olivia, you love him."

"So? This isn't a storybook - you don't always end up with the guy you want - sometimes the wicked witch of the west gets him instead."

"Well, as a friend of the - I don't know - prince in this situation?" Stephen said, "There is no way in hell either he or I are going to let something like that happen. You both deserve to be happy, Liv. Don't let them chase you away from him - he needs you, and you need him. Also, if it helps I don't think that he's going to let anything like this ever happen again. I talked to him this morning - he's terrified of losing you over this."

"He should be," Olivia replied, "I don't know why I didn't."

"Because you love him," Stephen had said, "And you know this hurt him just as much as it hurt you. He would never tell you this, so I'm going to because I think you should know. He called his father the next day, he threatened to stop speaking to them. The only reason I know is because my mum got a panicked phone call from his mother."

Stephen was looking at her like he had been when he said those words as they were sitting in the common room at Harvard. Harrison came out of his room ready to go and they were off to hang around in Boston with him for the day. It was thursday afternoon and they had driven up after their last finals. Yale gave them a week and a half before Christmas as part of their winter break. Fitz was flying into Logan later in the evening. They were staying at his apartment for the night.

The original plan was to go to California for his family - but he had vetoed that idea shortly after family weekend. Instead they were going to fly out in the morning with Steven and spend their faux Christmas with him, Abby, and his Aunt and Uncle. They lived in Ohio, right by Arianna's school so they would be able to see her too.

"I still can't believe you're all going to leave me here," Harrison said as the night sky was starting to set in and they were walking into the baggage claim at Logan to pick Fitz up.

"So I'm assuming you would get mad if I kicked him in the balls?" Abby said to Stephen.

"Yes," He and Olivia said together.

"Not at all," Harrison said at about the same time, and both Stephen and Olivia shot him a look.

"Seriously, Liv?" Abby looked surprised that she would protect him, she had all week.

"I will handle him myself," Olivia told her, "There is a discussion to be had that we didn't have when it happened, but this isn't you or Harrison's battle. And poor Stephen has been stuck in the middle of it this whole time."

"Thank you, Liv," Stephen said as they looked up at the escalators to see Fitz coming down to see them.

"You two do not get to bring it up," Olivia told them, and they nodded in agreement.

"Livy," Fitz smiled as he walked up to the group, hugging her first.

He kept it brief, and Olivia wondered if he was scared that if he held on too long she would run away. She had gotten in all her big talk with Stephen and Abby, but now that he was there with her - there was no way she could let him go. There was no way that she was ever going to even be strong enough to even think about something that could hurt him. They did need to talk though, especially if this relationship was going to do anything but kill her. Oh, if only she had known the night that they met what she had been signing on for - but then again, she probably wouldn't have done anything differently.

But right then? All she wanted was for him to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to he fine. She would have to wait for that, because they were all going out to dinner on Stephen first - which was how they had convinced Harrison to stick around. Out of everyone, Olivia thought her suedo brother was the most angry at Fitz. Well besides herself when she had had to explain to her parents why Fitz was on the cover of a magazine draped in his ex-girlfriend. She had told them something along the lines of them being friends since they were in diapers - they didn't need to know the whole drawn out story.

They got to Fitz's apartment at about ten, and they were both completely exhausted. Fitz went to get a quick shower while Olivia went straight for the bed. Fitz came out of the bathroom a few minutes after she had curled up and gotten settled.

"I'll sleep on the couch," He said sort of sadly, taking the pillow off his side of the bed.

"Fitz," She said, trying not to sound like a dog who had just gotten hit, but her voice cracked.

"What, Livy?" He asked, looking weak and somewhat beaten down.

"I want you in here with me," She said, "I want you to hold me."

"You're sure?" He checked as he set his pillow back down.

"Of course I'm sure," She said as he crawled in next to her and pulled her into her arms, "We do need to talk though."

"You up for it tonight?" He asked, kissing the side of her head, "I hate this hanging over us - I'd rather just get rid of it if we can. Because this? The way we've been? It's exactly what dad and everyone wants. It's not what I want, Livy. What I want is for us to be better than this, stronger than this, ok? I've learned my lesson and I apologize that it took something this dramatic for me to learn it."

"Baby, I love you," Olivia said as she reached up and put her hand into the side of his hair, "I want to be with you, and if that means having to grow thicker skin where your parents are concerned, I'll do it. But-"

"Nothing about this should make you change anything," He replied, leaning over and kissing the side of her head, "I will protect you from them, I promise. Don't worry about them anymore, Livy. Though, a little thicker skin wouldn't hurt, because I can't be around all the time."

"Ok," Olivia said, taking a deep breath as she looked up at him, "You will shield me from it when you can, and I need to trust that, and trust that you love me and not to listen to them when you can't."

"Sounds good," He replied, smirking slightly as he leaned in and kissed her, "Are we ok now?"

"We are just fine," She replied as she leaned up and kissed him softly.

"Thank God," He replied, as he ran his hand up her arm, pressing his forehead into her's, "I love you, and I've realized that I don't function well when we're not ok."

"Me either," She buried her face into his chest and he held her just that much closer.

The next morning they woke up early, and to an alarm. Fitz, used to this shot up like a rocket, disturbing Olivia's much more relaxed approach to waking up. She groaned as he leaned over and shut it off. She looked up at him as he came back towards her, and she chuckled a little, rubbing the side of her head. He pouted at her and reached over and started rubbing the side of her head gently.

"Headache?" He asked her and she shook her head.

"Your elbow hit me," She informed him, and he pouted as he leaned over and tried to kiss it better.

"I'm sorry, Livy," He told her, kissing it again, "If you would be so kind as to get into the shower with me, I'm sure I could work on making it up to you..."

"Fitz!" Olivia gave him a shocked expression - except she wasn't really.

"We have time before we have to meet Stephen and Abby at the airport."

In fact they did have time, more than enough time, their bags were already packed and waiting by the door when they finally emerged from the bathroom. Fitz very happily threw on street clothes, and Olivia put on her favorite travel outfit - doing her hair and makeup as Fitz went to throw the bags into the car. Olivia came out with whatever else she had. He helped her put it into the trunk with a kiss, and then they hopped into the car.

"There you two are," Stephen said as they walked up to the terminal about a half hour later - having just gotten through security.

"Hey," Fitz said, "Damn, I forgot to grab a book."

"There's a shop over there," Stephen said, smiling to see that Fitz and Olivia were holding hands as they walked up, "I'll go over with you."

Abby gave Olivia a disappointed shaking of her head, and Olivia rolled her eyes. She took a deep breath as she watched Fitz disappear into the bookstore behind them, then waited for Abby to start speaking.

"Please tell me you at least made him grovel," Abby said as they sat down, waiting for them to announce the boarding of the plane.

"I didn't have to make him do anything," Olivia replied, "He started all by himself before I could really even say anything."

"He loves you," Abby said, as she crossed her legs, "That was never a question, and he's terrified of losing you - also never really a question. The question was why he lets his family treat you like that."

"He's working on rectifying that," Olivia told her, "And he feels really bad about what happened - "

"He should, it made you seem like some sort of secret girlfriend," She said and Olivia nodded - she knew this all too well.

"Just lay off him, ok?" Olivia told her, "Don't mention it."

"I won't until he messes up again," Abby compromised, and Olivia sighed.

"Fine," Olivia replied as she spotted Fitz and Stephen were waiting in line at the register, "How are you and Stephen?"

"We're great," Abby replied, and Olivia smiled - it was good to hear, "He's different, right?"

"Very," Olivia told her, "He was nothing like this before. He's actually a good guy. Remember Fitz warning you about him?"

"I'm going to meet his family," Abby said, starting to panic and Olivia laughed a little bit.

"Picture the nicest people you could ever imagine, and they aren't as nice as Mae and Finn," Olivia told her, "Relax - especially compared to my disaster, you don't have anything to worry about."

"Ladies," Stephen said as he and Fitz walked back over, he handed them each a bottle of water.

"Thanks," Olivia said.

"Girl bonding time?" Fitz asked as they announced the boarding of their flight over the loudspeaker and the girls stood up.

"She was stressing about meeting the parents," Olivia told him as she threw her backpack over her shoulder and they started for the gate.

"Oh, she has nothing to worry about," Fitz said as they sat down in their seats, Stephen and Abby in the row in front of them, "Mae and Finn'll love her. They've been dying to see the girl that would calm Stephen down - Auntie Mae had started to lose hope."

She chuckled as she snuggled in against his arm for the take off. She hated flying, not that she would ever admit it to Mr. Pilot. Though for some reason she thought that Fitz simply understood this as fact as he wrapped an arm around her at a little better of an angle, holding her firmly. She smiled, closing her eyes as the plane took off - only opening them once her ears had popped and she was certain that they were safely in the air.

"You ok?" He asked her quietly and she nodded.

"This must be old hat for you."

"It's much different sitting in a seat without controls in front of you," He replied, leaning over and kissing the side of her head, "Though much comfier with you in my arms instead."

"Smooth," She teased him, and he chuckled as he leaned in and pecked her lips softly, "What were you like before we met?"

"What?"

"Stephen said you were - different."

"I was," He replied slowly, "Livy, I'm not exactly proud of the kind of person that I was. I projected the 'good guy' image, but I was bitter, and angry - and I just wasn't the good guy I seemed to be, ok? I met you, and I wanted to be the good guy. You wanted me to think for myself, you wanted me to be this amazing guy - and all I wanted was to be that guy, but more than that be that guy for you - and for me. That night I saw you sitting on the bench - I couldn't imagine why someone as beautiful as you would be so upset, I couldn't imagine anyone doing anything wrong to you. I wanted to protect you, and I just loved you - right off the bat. You fixed me, without even knowing that I was broken."

"Oh, baby," She said as she put her hand up on the side of his face.

"Well that in addition to the fact that you were smart, and brilliant, and gorgeous and all I could do for weeks was think about you," He told her, smiling as he leaned in and kissed her forehead, "Livy, I looked at you and I saw..."

"What?"

"It's not important," He said as he put up the armrest so that they could cuddle more comfortably.

"Of course it is," She replied, and he nodded.

"Fine," He replied, leaning over and tucking her hair behind her ear, "I knew that you were exactly what I needed, and that I had to be with you. I fought it, for two weeks. I was afraid - but I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I couldn't function. I knew that second that I saw you there that I belonged with you. You control me, Livy."

She nestled her head into his shoulder better, and the rest of the flight went pretty quickly. It was a short flight to begin with, Stephen's parents only lived in Ohio. Olivia was half asleep as they all piled off the plane, and Fitz kept his arm around her the whole way. He escorted her to the car, and then went to the baggage claim to get both of their things. Stephen, noticing what he was doing, sent Abby to the car and followed suit. Olivia was just about out cold - it wasn't that late, she wasn't sure why she was so tired. It was probably just her relaxing after being so on edge for so long. She had been waiting for that magazine to come out, and then having to deal with the fallout.

"You ok, Olivia?" Abby asked her as she slipped into the backseat with her, she ran her head over her forehead as if she thought she might find a fever.

"Yeah, I'm just exhausted," Olivia replied, and Abby gave her a little smile, and Abby nodded as the boys put their stuff in the back of the car, and then Stephen hopped in the driver's seat.

Within a few minutes they were pulling up to a house that rivaled the house that Fitz's parents had in California. She was half asleep, and then she was fully asleep. She woke up again a few minutes later as Fitz was carrying her into the house. She started to protest, but he hushed her up with a quick kiss as he walked by Mae and Finn.

"Is she sick?" Mae asked, "I can put some tea on.."

"I think she's just tired, mom," Stephen told her.

"She wasn't sleeping very well," Abby told her and Mae nodded as Fitz continued to carry her upstairs.

He walked into a guest bedroom where all of their things had already been brought into. It took Olivia a second to realize it would have been because Fitz had already brought them up. He laid her down on the bed and kissed her tenderly, she loved the feeling of his lips on her's and she groaned at the loss of contact as he pulled away from her.

"Are you feeling ok, Livy?" He asked as he curled himself around her on the bed, his hands trailing around her as if she were made of glass - the way he touched her when he was making love to her.

"I'm just tired, baby," She yawned as his mobile phone started ringing across the room and he got up to answer it as she cuddled up with a pillow.

She was drifting in and out of sleep when Fitz's smiling face appeared directly in her view.

"Livy," He said as he leaned in and kissed her, "Wake up, just for one second - I have a way better Christmas present for you than the one I bought you."

"What?" She asked, slightly confused.

"They're stationing me in Maine, Livy," He said, as he kissed her forehead, "They're bringing the carrier up, and I'm going to be less than three hours away from you from now through the summer."


	14. Not So Good

A/N: So let me just say how funny I thought it was how quickly so many of you thought she was preggers (Which she's not) Trust me, coming up that's the last thing they would need (Honestly I'm not entirely sure it would be physically possible, especially for an nineteen year old Olivia to deal with - I mean, she could, but oh that would be a whole other story) Anyways, so here we go :) Enjoy!

Skylines

Chapter Fourteen: Not so Good

Olivia was sick, and Fitz absolutely couldn't stand it. She was so tiny, it was almost unfair that she got the same kind of illnesses that everyone else because it effected her so much more. He spent the majority of the time at this Aunt and Uncle's, and effectively almost his whole leave, taking care of her. One night he had gotten nervous about her, so he and Stephen had brought her into the emergency room. They gave her IV fluids, a little bit of a pain killer for her body aches and shakes, and confirmed that she had the flu. The whole trip took only a couple hours, and then they sent her home with them. She stayed in bed most of the week, and Fitz was refusing to leave her side.

By the end of the week she was just starting to feel better. So, Fitz helped her get settled down on the couch so that she could be a little more social, and so that she could take part in the little Christmas that they were celebrating that night. He had sent Stephen and Mae to pick up Arianna from school, because it had to be a blood relative picking her up, and because Mae had clearance to get her rom school some weekends anyways. When they got back with her she was so happy to see them, and sat on the other side of Liv, trying to catch up with her.

They all exchanged gifts. Stephen's were, as always, the strangest. He had gotten Fitz an action figure of a World War II pilot with a parachute strapped to his back. Abby got something a little more serious, which was fitting - but it was his present to Liv that made Fitz really question his sanity. He had wrapped her up a pair of horse blinders, black, leather, probably the smallest size that he could find and a pair of ear plugs. He was sitting there as she opened them, and he was racking his brain as to why he would get that for her. He got the little joke that was in his, but horse blinders? Olivia seemed to like them though.

"Stephen, I can't believe you," She smiled as she let them fall onto her lap, chuckling slightly, "These are great."

"Good, make sure you use them," He smiled back as her as Fitz gave her a curious look.

"Are you having a distraction problem?" Fitz asked her incredulously as she put them back into the box they came in.

"In a manner of speaking," Stephen answered for her.

Fitz nodded and let the subject drop as they started cleaning up the paper - Aunt Mae showing up with a large trash bag. He got the distinct feeling that Stephen's present was some sort of inside joke. He wasn't used to a friend, even if it was Stephen, being so close to his girlfriend. No one had bothered even talking to Mellie, even if he was around and he doubted he would have minded if they did. He wasn't sure if he was jealous that Stephen was friends with her, but prefered to think of it as he felt left out. Of course Stephen and Olivia would be close, they were at school together all the time - it just made him a little sad. He was realizing that Stephen saw much more of his Livy than he did.

"You ok, Fitz?" Olivia asked him and he nodded as the room started to clear out - Arianna had just left with Finn to go back to school.

"I'm fine," He told her, rather unconvincingly as she cuddled up next to him, "How're you feeling?"

"Not so good," She replied, and he gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I love you," He tried to cheer her up, and she gave him a little smile, "You want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure," She said, "As long as you don't mind me falling asleep on you."

"You know?" Fitz said, extracting himself from her to go over to the shelf, "That doesn't sound at all bad to me."

He spotted her favorite movie on the shelf, and popped it into the VCR and headed back to sit with her. She sat up for a minute as he sat, and then laid back down in his arms.

"I'm sorry," She told him as the opening credits started.

"About what?"

"You're spending your whole leave taking care of me," She replied, "And I'm sick and disgusting."

"You're sick, but you're not disgusting," He corrected her, kissing the side of her head, "And all I want when I'm on leave is to be with you - so, if that means that I'm taking care of you while you're sick - I'm taking care of you while you're sick."

All of them flew back to Boston the next morning. That hadn't always been the plan, Fitz was going to go straight to base from the house, but he didn't feel right doing that when Olivia was sick. He had the extra time, they gave him an extra day because he was going to Maine instead of Virginia. He brought her home to her parents for the rest of her break, kissing her good bye and promising that he would see her on his weekends off - now that he was in a possible range of getting to her.

Then he was off, and back on his carrier - thankful that he had given Olivia her own mobile phone for Christmas. He didn't know how many times he had gained access to a phone and called her and she wasn't there. Then he wouldn't have another shot for another couple weeks. This way when he called she at least had the option of picking up - he was still ignoring his parents' calls. He felt juvenile, but he needed to drive the message home to them.

He took a deep breath as he stood on the carrier - he was coming up on his first weekend that he was available to go off base for and he was excited. He had missed his and Olivia's one year anniversary of meeting - which was the anniversary that he kept track of, and he was eager to make up for it. He already had plans to meet up with Olivia and their friends, including Harrison, in Boston for the weekend. Which meant that he and Liv would be all alone in their - his - room for sleeping, and day time. He just couldn't wait until he could hold her again. Stephen, who's apartment was now in Connecticut, and Abby were staying in the guest room at his apartment, which was fine with Fitz.

"Grant," The Admiral said as he walked over to where Fitz was standing, waiting for the round of planes that had just gone out to get back.

"Yes, sir," Fitz told him and the Admiral nodded.

"I'd like you to come down to my office with me."

"Sir?" Fitz said, "Is there something wrong?"

"Of course not, Grant," He replied, "You're the best man that we have."

"Thank you, sir," Fitz said, and Admiral nodded.

"Well, c'mon."

"I'm supposed to wait - it's my shift to clean the incoming planes."

"Don't worry about that, Grant," He said, "Come along with me now - I'll make sure someone else gets on it."

"Ok, sir," Fitz replied, following him down to his office which was just off the runway, "What's going on?"

"Sit," He said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk, and Fitz sat down.

"Sir?"

"I got a call about you this morning," The Admiral said, "It seems your numbers, your records, and all the positive attention you've received has gotten you noticed as the second best flyer in the Navy."

"That can't be right," Fitz said, and the Admiral nodded.

"It can, and it is - I looked up the numbers myself after I got off the phone," He told Fitz, "They want you to train for a special mission. We're sending you to Texas as soon as you get back from your weekend duty break."

"Texas?" Fitz asked and the Admiral nodded.

"They couldn't even tell me what they're training you for, Grant," He told him, "It's the top two flyers from the Navy, the Army, and the Airforce. The mission is top secret, Grant. If you ask me it's probably something to do with the issues we've been having with Iraq. You'll have a week of training down there, and then you'll be sent off to - wherever you're going."

Fitz understood, this was the sort of mission that no one would ever hear about - unless it was successful. He took a deep breath and felt himself swallow. He now understood the Admirals more or less morbid tone. Fitz took a deep breath. This was the last thing that he wanted - he should have kept his head down lower. He should have been a terrible flyer - they never sent the bad pilots on things like this.

"It's a big mission - the orders came right from the SECNAV himself," the Admiral said, and Fitz nodded, "Grant."

"Yes, sir?" Fitz replied, knowing that he was looking a little green.

"You are the best flyer that I have seen come through here - I don't know who those other guys are, but you're better - I don't care what the rankings say," the Admiral said, and Fitz nodded, "You will be fine."

"Thank you, sir," Fitz said, as he stood up - trying to take a deep breath.

"You enjoy your weekend, spend some time with that pretty girl of yours," He said, and Fitz nodded.

"That's the plan," Fitz said, leaving the office.

The rest of the week passed all too quickly for Fitz, and he couldn't even keep his thoughts straight. Before he knew it he was driving into Boston in his car. He had supposed to have left much earlier than he had been able to. He had had to pack up his room so that they could ship all his stuff down to Texas for him so it would all be there when he landed there Monday night. He had started to come to terms with what this mission would mean, even if he couldn't even put it into words yet. It got to be about fifteen minutes til he was supposed to be there - and he wasn't anywhere close. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed Olivia.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, I got a late start," Fitz told her, "I'll be there in about forty-five minutes."

"Ok," She said, "Is everything ok? You sound weird."

"I'm fine," Fitz told her.

"Ok," It wasn't - and she knew it wasn't but he knew she was letting it slide, "We're at a little party near Harrison's dorm, just off campus. Meet us here - I don't think we're really going to be going anywhere."

"Ok," Fitz said as he noticed voices in the background.

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Olivia asked, "You sound upset."

"I'll be there in a few, ok?" Fitz replied, "I love you."

"I love you too."

He hung up and threw the phone over into the passenger seat as he finally turned on the radio. Olivia deserved some happiness - he felt like all he had been to her since they got together was something bad. He didn't want her to find out about this by him showing up in some grumpy display, he wanted to wait for the perfect moment to tell her. It had only been a matter of time before he actually saw combat, he would be ok. It wasn't like he was going to be on the ground, but Olivia was going to be upset about it.

"Hey," Stephen said, his arm around Abby on the edge of the party as Fitz walked up.

"Where's Liv?" He asked and Stephen pointed over towards the house.

Fitz didn't even stop to properly greet them, and walked into the house. Olivia was on the edge of the ever moving dance floor - Harrison not too far away. She was swaying ever so slightly to the music, and he had to pause to watch her for a second. He grinned slightly, she looked absolutely beautiful - which she always did. But he was starting to get the feeling that she put in a bit of extra effort for when he was first coming back. He made eye contact with Harrison, and he nodded to him. Harrison took the hint and disappeared into the crowd as Fitz started to walk over to Olivia.

"Are you here with someone?" He asked playfully, smirking as she spotted him walking up, "Because I'd sure love to take you home."

"Well see, I have this boyfriend," She teased him, and he smiled, "I just love him so much, but he's in the Navy - so he's away a lot."

"Idiot," Fitz told her, "Your boyfriend's an idiot. Screw your boyfriend - If I had the choice, I would never leave your side."

"Oh really now?" She said, smiling - he could tell she was using every bit of her self-control to keep the charade going, "Why don't you dance with me then?"

"You don't have to ask me twice, Livy," He whispered into her ear as he swooped her up in his arms, "I missed you so much."

"I love you so much, Fitz," She smiled as she leaned up and kissed him sensually, "I can't begin to explain how much I missed you."

"Well I think that kiss was a good start," He told her, leaning in and kissing her forehead as they moved together to the music, "What do you say we head out of here early? Head Stephen and Abby off so that we can have a little alone time? Talk? I missed talking to you - they haven't given us a lot of time to go into port."

"Talk? Since when do you ever just want to talk on the first night you're back?"

"Since I've missed you, a lot," He replied - she was getting suspicious.

"Ok," She said, "I'm about done here."

"Good," He said, taking her hand and leading her out of the house, and out into the yard where Stephen was out in the yard with Abby still.

"That was quick," Stephen chuckled as they passed.

"Grant's got the charm though," A familiar voice to both of them said, and they stopped to see Edison walking over from inside the house, "Hey, Olivia. Harrison said you'd be up this weekend."

"I am," Olivia replied kindly, which sort of took Fitz off guard - they were on speaking terms now? "Fitz is on leave for the weekend, so we're spending it up here. How's Viv?"

"She's good," Edison replied, chuckling, "I actually was just going to find her. You didn't happen to see her in there, did you?"

"Last I saw her she was with her friends in the kitchen," Olivia told him, and Edison nodded.

"Thanks."

Fitz put on a brave face, trying to seem like the whole exchange hadn't totally caught him off guard as he led Olivia away from the party and towards his car. This was the same guy that she had found cheating on her, right? How could she talk to him so calmly - Fitz was still so angry at him he could have punched him square in the jaw. Anyone who could hurt someone like his Liv the way that Edison did... And now they were all buddy buddy? Olivia was on speaking terms with him and his new girlfriend - enough to know who she was and who her friends were?

"You're talking to Edison again?" Fitz asked and Olivia nodded as they hopped in the car.

"I didn't mention it to you?" She asked, "We started hanging out with him and his girlfriend - Vivian. He seems to have grown up a little - and seems really happy with her. They're really a nice couple."

He was going to Texas, and then God knew where - and Olivia was hanging out at Harvard with her ex. The ex that had treated her so poorly was seeing more of her than he was, and that killed him. He hated Davis, and just about everything about him, too, more than he thought it was really possible for him to do so.

"No, you didn't mention it to me," Fitz said as he drove to his apartment, which was barely three streets over, "How can you just hang around with him?"

"Fitz," Olivia said sternly, recognizing the jealousy in his voice as he parked the car, "Fitz! Look at me! That all went down over a year ago now. I have this amazing boyfriend - when he doesn't have his head up his ass - that I love more than anything in the world. Why the hell would I think twice about being nice, and being friendly with a guy that I used to date? It's not like that anymore, he's moved on, and I've moved on. He got over what happened a long time ago - and so did I. I have you, and you're all I want. It's so ridiculous that you're jealous right now - you have no right."

"I have no right?" He asked as they got out of the car and headed for the door, "I see you maybe once every couple months - maybe get to speak to you on the phone once a week. I finally get here to be with you and I find out you've been hanging around with your ex - who cheated on you. Who last I checked you couldn't stand."

"We have mutual friends, Fitz," Olivia said as they walked into the apartment, and Fitz dropped his bag over by where Olivia had dropped hers off earlier, "We've always hung around in the same circles. You're blowing this way out of proportion. It's not like I'm running around with just him and having study dates. We just happen to hang out in the same groups when we go and visit Harrison at school. It's been a long time, Fitz. I just don't see the point in holding a grudge on something where I made out like a bandit. He was the one who ended up more hurt than I did."

"What the hell do you care if he was hurt?"

"I didn't, and I don't. I just see no reason to be mean about it to him," Olivia countered, "Fitz - what the hell is the matter with you?"

"Nothing's the matter," He replied, and Olivia rolled her eyes at him.

"You seemed sad on the phone, then you attack the fact that I hang out in the same group of friends as my ex once every other month when I visit my friend," Olivia said, "And this time the only reason I'm here is because of you. Now tell me what the hell is going on with you?"

Now, now was the time to tell her about Texas, that he was going away. That he was actually being sent into combat. His temper about Edison would be forgiven, and she would be sympathetic with him. She would hold him tight and tell him how worried she was, how much she would miss him, and how happy she would be when he got back. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't tell her that he was going away - she would worry. She would be upset, and she would hate him. Eventually, she would. His presence in her life had caused nothing but trouble. Between all the things that his parents had pulled and now this? He had felt guilty from the beginning about signing her up for being in love with a guy who wasn't free to belong to her. His ass belonged to the Navy - and they could do whatever they pleased with him.

"You're going around behind my back with your ex," The words came out before he could take them back, like verbal diarrhea, "I don't care if nothing's going on - the amount of flack I got for Mellie, and I didn't even want her around. You're gladly and without a thought just going around and hanging out with him like nothing ever happened."

"That's because he meant nothing to me," Olivia said and Fitz shook his head as he stood up.

"You should go, Olivia," He said, hating himself with every word that came out of his mouth.

"No," She said, "Not until you tell me what's really going on."

"They're sending me to Texas," He told her sighing - losing his nerve, "They're training me for combat, and they're sending me to Iraq - probably - for some sort of mission that no one can know about."

She took a minute to process, then angry tears started to roll down her cheeks. Each one felt like a stab wound to his chest.

"You asshole!" She said through gritted teeth, "How dare you? How dare you come here and push me away? Come down and start a fight and then tell me that you're going away for real? You're a damn coward! How could you do that to me, to me, Fitz?! You're right, I should go."

"Olivia - "

"No, Fitz," She said, shaking with anger as she grabbed her bags and headed for the door, "I can't believe that you would do this to me. I thought you loved me, I thought you trusted me. We're done - ok? You got what you wanted. You get to be the tough guy, ok? Go off with no responsibilities - let yourself get killed like no one cares about you. Don't let there be any guilt when you go off, ok? I don't want to hear from you, you're on your own - what you want, right?"

He didn't say anything - he couldn't say anything. He was frozen as he watched her leave, the door slamming behind her as she took off.


	15. A Wreck

A/N: You New-Englanders out there ready for snowmageddon? I know I am. Hello, Movie Collection/Scandal season 1...lol. Well at least we have this scandal episode to occupy our minds for a bit. Oh and so I put my ipod on shuffle this morning and "Not Falling Apart" by Maroon V came on, it was pretty perfect as far as where we are in this story... anyways Enjoy :)

Skylines

Chapter Fifteen: A Wreck

She turned the phone Fitz had gotten her off and threw it into her backseat as she drove away from his apartment. She let the car be silent and focused on the road as it started to rain pretty heavily. She drove, and she drove, all the way back to Yale. She thought for a second about just going home - but she didn't want to be there. She wanted to be alone, she didn't want her parents wondering why she was there - especially on a weekend that they knew she had been supposed to be with Fitz. She went straight to her room and crawled into bed, but she couldn't sleep - she was too angry. Her blood was boiling, her skin was crawling, and her heart was broken - floating inside of her in a pool of adrenaline.

How could her good, sweet, gentle, perfect Fitz do that to her? How could he just turn around and be such a jerk? She understood that he would, eventually, have to go into combat. She wasn't mad about that, there was nothing that could be done about it. It was his job, he was in the Navy - he had that responsibility. She fully comprehended that. What she couldn't understand was him pulling that shit, the trying to push her away. He was scared, she got that, but one would think that he would let her to be there for him. It hurt that he didn't want her there with him, that he didn't want her. How many times had he declared his love for her and now the second he's not on solid ground and comfortable he didn't want her?

It was like he was accepting his responsibility to the Navy, but wanted out of his responsibility to her. That's why she broke up with him. Didn't realize that he had just as much responsibility to her to come back as he did to the Navy to go? He had made her love him, he had done everything he could to prove to her that he loved her, and then he was going to back out of it? Go off to wherever the hell he was going - but it was ok if he didn't come back because she was out of the picture? No. It most certainly wasn't. It hurt to think that he would do that, and to her - in that state of mind - it was unforgivable. If that had been his plan all along why did he even bother with her in the first place? Just to break her heart? To screw with his parents?

Hot, angry tears were rolling down her face as she looked over at her desk, and the shelf on top of it were she had proudly displayed her gift from Stephen. Fitz had said something about Stephen's Christmas presents being really random, and sometimes a little nutty. From what she saw, yes they were a little unconventional - but they were thoughtful. He got Fitz a pilot with a parachute - his way of telling him to stay safe. He put a rock with some sort of saying in with Abby's present - because she was strong, and he knew that sometimes she needed a reminder of that. Her present - the blinders and earplugs - were an attempt to encourage her to keep her eyes looking forward, ignoring all the other challenges coming at her from the side - like Fitz's family. The earplugs telling her not to listen to all the things they were saying. She just had to look forward, to Fitz, to what they were. She could do that. Why couldn't he? She had been fully into their relationship - ready and wiling - but he apparently hadn't been. That stung.

"Livy," Stephen said, his voice full of concern as he and Abby came into the room, "Liv - what happened?"

"We got to Fitz's apartment and he was packing up," Abby said, looking genuinely concerned, "He said something about leaving for Texas."

So he wasn't going to come after her - she hadn't really expected him too. Though, there was a part of her that wished he would. It just went to prove everything she had been thinking about him in the past couple hours.

"He said you left," Stephen said, which was apparently what he was concerned about.

"They're sending him there," Olivia said, "They're training him for combat, some sort of big thing - it doesn't matter."

"So why is he leaving tonight?" Abby asked.

"How should I know?" Olivia nearly snapped, and Stephen gave her a knowing look.

"Did you leave your stuff in the car?" He asked, looking around the room, and Olivia shrugged.

"I guess I did," She said, wiping a stray tear from her eyes as Stephen picked up her keys from off her desk.

"Abbs," He whispered as he handed her the keys, "Would you mind going and getting them for her? I want a minute to talk to her."

"Sure," Abby said, taking the keys and leaving the room.

"So do you want to fill me in?" He asked and Olivia took a deep rattling breath.

She told him everything, spilling all of her guts to him as he just sat there listening. He seemed surprised with Fitz's behavior, and looked almost speechless by the time she finished. They heard Abby coming back, and Olivia told him that she didn't want to talk about it. It was unspoken, but they both knew that it had very little to do with the ridiculous break up, and more to do with her not wanting to think about Fitz where ever they were sending him. The break up was just salt - very similar to the stuff they used on highways to keep it from icing over - on the much bigger wound, he was trying to abandon her before he left.

"Ok, Liv," Stephen gave her a weary, but understanding smile as Abby walked back into the room.

"Here you go," She said, setting her phone down on the desk, and dropping her bag by her bed.

"Thanks, Abbs," Olivia said and Abby nodded.

"So Fitz bit the dust huh?" She said, and Olivia gave her a look as if asking her how she would know something like that, "The phone was thrown into the backseat. It was under the seat, and it's off. You never go anywhere without it."

"I don't want to talk about it," Olivia told her, and she nodded.

"Ok."

Olivia rolled over and watched the rain falling down the window, and eventually managed to fall asleep. She woke up the next morning, regrettably and continued to do so over the next couple days - despite her insistence that she didn't want to when she went to sleep at night. She was thankful that she had always been able to do well in school without much extra effort, which meant that her going to classes and returning to bed without doing much else wasn't hurting her GPA all that much. Abby and Stephen brought her food, and she did homework when she couldn't sleep. Everything in her room stayed exactly the same as it had been when she had gotten back Friday night. She heard Abby and Stephen talking about her when they thought she wasn't listening - calling her 'a wreck' and musing over what they could do to help her out of her rut.

She was miserable, and she saw Stephen wanting to say something to her, but he didn't. Abby was in mother mode, she knew how hard Olivia had fallen for Fitz, and was sympathetic. She was picking up after her, checking with her to make sure she didn't need anything, and making sure she was eating. She brought her cookies from the closest store, and made her some tea while she did her homework. It was nice, but Olivia wasn't used to someone waiting on her hand and foot - someone checking on her, unless it was Fitz - who was probably back with Mellie by now.

She wondered briefly how long it had taken his family to convince him to go back to her once she was out of the picture. It had been less than a week, maybe he was still holding strong. He was training anyways, so it wasn't like they could shove her pampered little ass right into his face. That was somewhat comforting to her. She tried not to think about it - she was sleeping as much as she could as if somehow in her dreams she didn't have to think about him. At least that way she wouldn't have to necessarily remember that she was dreaming about him. As long as she had school she had enough to occupy her mind so that she only had to worry about him minimally, but she was still sick to her stomach about him.

Thursday night she did her homework due Monday, and then started to work on a project that was due in the next month. She figured that might take up her whole weekend. This took her until Saturday, with Abby and Stephen watching her from a cautious distance. They were good friends, and Harrison - having heard what had happened was on his way to come down for the weekend. Olivia thought it was nice that he was coming to check up on her - but she didn't even want to do anything.

She was sorry now for walking out like she did. She wished she had stayed and fought him, but she knew that if his mind was made up it wouldn't have mattered. She just wasn't sure if it was, and didn't know if she ever would. She was hoping once he got back from where ever they were sending him that she would be able to somehow talk to him about it. Though she doubted that his family would allow her anywhere near him now, especially if they had been able to slip Mellie right back into his hand. She was keeping herself from asking Stephen - she knew he had been talking to him - but she wasn't ready to hear anything of him. This was probably why Stephen hadn't told her anything - he was good like that.

Olivia was sitting in bed, the sheets up over her legs as she went over her notes on the project. She took a deep breath and looked around the empty room. She spotted the phone still sitting on the desk, and got up. She went over and threw the blinders and earplugs into an empty drawer in her desk - she couldn't look at them any more. She picked the phone up and was ready to throw it in with them too, but turned it on instead. She scrolled through the missed calls - she had about seven. Three from Stephen the night that she turned it off, and four from Fitz, one from Monday morning, which was his mobile number, and then each one after that was the base - known by the area code - except for the last two days he hadn't called, he hadn't left any messages either.

She tried calling his mobile - if he had the night off he would have it on him, and he would answer - but he didn't. She took a deep breath and shut the phone, putting it back, but on - up on the shelf near her land-line, where her blinders had been.

"Look who's up and moving," Stephen smiled as he and Abby waltzed into the room, "You look as if you're feeling a little bit better."

"You should come out with us tonight," Abby commented, and Olivia sighed - not sure she was exactly up to that.

"He's been calling me," Olivia told Stephen, and he nodded, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was waiting for you to ask me about him," Stephen shrugged, "I thought you'd come to me when you were ready to talk. He went off yesterday morning though."

"Damn it," She said, almost ready to throw something.

"He said that they got leave after, and that you were his first stop. He realizes how much of a stupid move what he did was. Edison just threw him off," Stephen told her, "I'll let him do the groveling in person when he gets back."

"He's not back together with Mellie?"

"What? Of course not," Stephen looked at her like she had grown about six extra heads, "How many times have we told you that he's not going back to that dragon between the two of us? Maybe a thousand? He was upset, and he was thrown off by Edison being around.."

"I thought you weren't groveling for him," Abby pointed out and Stephen nodded, shutting up, "So are you coming out with us tonight, or not?"

"Sure," She said, and Abby threw her her towel from the hook, "Then get going - Harrison'll be here in twenty minutes."

Olivia ran and took a shower - the first hot shower she had had in a week. She had showered, she had just not cared enough to let the water heat up before she got in. She tried to go about it quickly, but closed her eyes, and she could feel Fitz in there with her. Well, she could remember what it had felt like to have him under the stream of water with her from a previous memory. She got out of the shower and her heart began to ache - worse than it had been all week. She wasn't really all that angry anymore, she just wanted him back.

She took a deep breath as she walked back to the room, having dressed in the stall with the shower, and Harrison was sitting in her desk chair waiting for her. Stephen sitting on Abby's bed - leaning against the back wall. Abby was over standing in front of her mirror - fixing her makeup and Olivia smiled a little as she put her shower stuff away.

"Wow, I was expecting much worse," Harrison said, getting up and going to give her a hug.

"Well we've already done the majority of the heavy lifting," Stephen said smirking as Abby went over and sat with him - they waited for Olivia to fix her hair and put on her makeup.

"Probably doesn't hurt that Fitz'll be back soon though," Abby said, "How long could whatever he's on last?"

"Who knows," Harrison replied, "But you're sure you're going to take him back?"

"Wait, you knew?" Olivia asked him and Stephen put his hands up in surrender.

"We kept him in the loop," He said innocently, and Olivia sighed.

"Did everyone but me know that Fitz was calling me?" She asked and Stephen nodded.

"Olivia, if you found out before you wanted to know if he was - it would have pissed you off," He said, seriously, "You know that, and he knew it too. You had to know it and hear it when you were ready to stop being angry at him - and seeing all the missed calls - it proves to you that he loves you, and he's sorry, and that he called you even though he knew you wouldn't answer. That's why he kept calling the phone that wasn't turned on."

"You ready to go?" Abby asked her, rather impatiently as she got up on the bed with Stephen and took hold of his arm, kissing his cheek.

"Fine," Olivia said, as she slipped on her favorite shoes and they headed out.

They spent a little time at one of the Frat houses, Stephen knew a couple of them, and Harrison was in the chapter that was at Harvard. Plus, they knew some of the guys from their classes. It wasn't the typical Frat, most of them were in school to be either doctors or lawyers, and they had to have a really high GPA to stay in the Frat. Their parties were events, balls, dances, not your average college party where you tried to fit as many people into the same room with large quantities of alcohol. There was plenty of alcohol, it was just a little more elegant than a kid doing a kegstand in the middle of the room. They only stayed a little while. Harrison was supposed to stop in and make nice. Olivia found herself sitting around in the corner - going up to get food while she waited to go - parties, no matter what kind, weren't all that much fun without someone there with you.

"Excuse me, you're Olivia, right?" She turned around to see a nice looking guy standing beside her.

"Yeah," She smiled, "You're in my psych class, right?"

"I am, Kal, by the way," He said, shaking her hand, "I missed the lecture on Thursday."

"It was just him ranting about his daughter's issues again," She said, "We were supposed to be talking about schizophrenia - I think."

"I hate when professors do that," He chuckled, "That's why I didn't feel all that bad about skipping."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," She replied, and he smiled at her - suddenly she was feeling the need to back away - he was much too close.

"So are you here with someone?" He asked and she took a small step back.

"Um," She said - shit.

What did she say?

"There you are, Liv," Harrison said as he popped up next to her, "Are you ready to get out of here, babe?"

"Ah, yeah sure," Olivia said and Harrison smiled as Stephen popped up on her other side.

"There you are my love," Stephen said charmingly, and the Kal's made a bit of a scared face.

"I told you to shove off, Stephen," Harrison told him, Olivia was surprised that he was keeping a straight face as Kal started to back away, "Olivia's here with me."

"Oh she is?" Stephen chuckled, as Kal was no where in sight anymore, "I didn't know what the plan of action was."

"Well I think the message was sent," Harrison replied.

"Yeah, he thinks I'm a slut."

"That's Kal," Stephen replied, "With the company he keeps, even if you were dating both of us, you'd still be a lady."

"We should get going," Abby said as she came out of the woodwork too, "We can just hang out back at the dorm - Olivia looks like a fish out of water here."

They walked back to the Dorm, dragging a couch from the common room into the room so that Harrison could sleep on it while they all got ready for bed. Olivia had put on Fitz's Navy shirt, then taken it back off. She would wait until he got back - she felt weird wearing it when they weren't solid. She put on her usual PJs, and walked back to the room. Her slippers made a distinct sound on the floor, and she smiled a little as she walked into the room.

As soon as she walked in she knew there was something wrong. They were all silent, in awe. Stephen had seen her coming in through the corner of his eye and muted the TV. She looked from one of them to the other and then back again. None of them said anything, Abby looked as if she was about to puke.

"Are you ok, Abby?" She asked, and Stephen cleared his throat.

"Liv," Stephen said, as he and Abby sat up, he pattted the bed on his other side, "C'mere."

"Why?" She said, going over and sitting as she was told and Abby switched to sit on the other side.

Stephen picked the remote back up, and unmuted the TV. The news station came back from the commercial. There was a very grave looking man sitting behind the news desk and Olivia looked over at Stephen, who motioned for her to look back over at the TV.

"...The time is now eleven Eastern standard time, and we are getting in breaking news that there was a mission gone awry in Iraq," He said, and it knocked the wind right out of Olivia.

"No," Olivia said as Stephen wrapped an arm around her, "No."

"Liv..."

"...There was an air mission earlier today near the border to Kuwait," He said, "We're getting preliminary reports that all six pilots and their navigators were shot down near an army base on the border into Kuwait. We have information that this was a mission that involved the Navy, Army, and Airforce. We have no names for you yet, but we have intel that these were America's finest pilots... We will be informing you all of the progress of the situation as we get the information in. We are as of now positive that before they went down, they completed their mission."

"No," Olivia said as Stephen extracted himself as his mobile phone rang.

"Olivia," Harrison said as he slipped in and took Stephen's spot - he gave her his hand which she squeezed so hard that she might have broken it.

She felt dizzy. She was shaking, and somehow she could tell that Abby had her hand on her back trying to steady her. She could almost see herself as she stood up and she looked around the room, lost. She couldn't breath, she was breaking out in sweats. Then, she was staring at a puddle of vomit on the floor.


	16. A Farewell

A/N: So, hi. I'm so sorry that that last chapter matched up with that episode... yikes (Though I'm not going to mourn Olitz just yet. I don't think Shonda will/could give up on them entirely - Fitz is sad, and he's punishing himself - he'll be back) Anyways... so here we go? We backtrack a little bit... (if you haven't noticed in the last couple chapters the innocence and pure joy of Olitz in this story is just about out the window) Enjoy :) and pay attention to the Line breaks!

Skylines

Chapter Sixteen: A Farewell

Fitz was standing in a line on the carrier, the planes that they had trained them in the last week to fly and operate were lined up in front of them. His navigator was a guy from Kentucky, all the navigators were from the Airforce, which didn't surprise him one bit. They were apparently the best and most experienced with air radar. As soon as he got down there it was clear who was running the show, and who was just along for the ride. He had lucked out though, the planes were almost identical to the ones he had been flying for the Navy. A few of the controls were moved around to fit in the button and side stick that controlled the guns.

He looked down the line as the mechanics did their last look over of the planes to make sure that everything was in good working order. The other Navy guy, Ben was next to him in the line. Their mission was simple, because it was supposedly a simply one - just risky. They were to fly over Kuwait - because they had permission from their government - and it was safe, then very briefly fly over the border into Iraq and take out a camp that was planning on crossing the border. It would be easy enough, because their armory on the edge of the camp was pretty well loaded up with weapons. All they had to do was hit it a few times with their guns.

The Airforce whatever they called it - the guy in charge motioned for them to climb into their cockpits. Fitz swallowed hard as he reached into his pocket. The slightly frayed picture of Olivia that had been on all his flights thus far was there, and he took a deep breath. He had been a coward, and every other name she had called him since then. That ended the second that he got back - he loved her, and he was going to win her back. She had been right - he had been trying to push her away, but there was no chance of that happening ever again. He thought it would make it easier - but he was an idiot. He had to get her back, there was no other choice - and he would do anything - just as soon as he got home.

* * *

The atmosphere when he had gotten to the base in Texas was clear. The Airforce personnel seemed as if they were almost insulted to have the other pilots there. It was no mystery why they had pulled them from the other branches - the Airforce didn't want to risk that many of their pilots on their own. This way it was minimal impact if things went wrong, but they still had excellent chances of getting the job done. He took a deep breath, walking into he room he would be living in with his navigator for the next week. He set his bag down on the bed that had the rest of his stuff on it, and sighed.

"You Grant?" The Navigator up on the top bunk said as he slipped down, extending a hand.

"Yeah," Fitz said unconcernedly as he turned to shake his hand.

"I'm Jason," He said, "Jason Lydon - but everyone just calls me Jay. Where're you from?"

"California originally," Fitz told him, "But I've lived the past five years in Boston, technically."

"I'm from Kentucky," He replied, "You go to school up there then?"

"Harvard," Fitz replied simply, "Hey, i have to make a phone call - where are the phones?"

"Oh, down the hall and to the left," Ben told him, and Fitz nodded.

"Thanks, Jay," He said, making brief eye contact as he headed out the door.

He had called Olivia first thing that morning - hoping in vain that she would answer. She didn't. In fact, it went straight to voicemail, and he was not leaving her a message with what he wanted to say to her. He needed to win her back, and that wasn't something he could really do on the phone - he really just needed to hear her voice. He had called Stephen right afterwards - and he told him that Olivia's phone was off. He also had told him that she was still angry - sad hadn't set in yet, and she wouldn't be ready to hear him out until she was ready - no matter what the time constraints were. Fitz knew he was right - but he still kind of hated that Stephen knew Olivia so well. It was nothing he didn't know - but still. So, his call was not to either of them, but to his mother.

It was time that he broke the juvenile silence, she was his mother - and he was going off into a combat situation. No matter how much of a snake she was and no matter how much he had a mother more like Olivia's - or like June Cleaver for that matter - she was the one that he had. He was still her son, and she would know that he was being sent off. His father had contacts pretty high up in the Navy. He had no doubt that his father had been getting a daily report on his activities from someone.

"Hello, Bridget Grant speaking."

"Hi, Mom."

"Fitzgerald?" She seemed surprised, "What are you doing calling? We haven't heard from you in months. Is everything ok?"

"i just got to Texas, thought I'd give you a call."

"Texas? What're you doing there?"

"Training for something with the Airforce," He said, "Dad didn't tell you?"

"I'm not exactly on speaking terms with your father at the moment."

"What did he do this time?" Fitz wanted to take the words back the minute he said them.

"More like who," She said, and Fitz cringed - he didn't know why she insisted on talking to him about that sort of thing, "And then more like who he's now."

"Well they're sending me into some combat with the Airforce and some Army guys."

"That must mean you're still doing well," She replied, and he mumbled in affirmation, "You know the Hollis' were here last week."

"That's almost a record," Fitz replied and he heard her sigh heavily.

"I'm sorry," She said, but Fitz didn't buy it - his mother was never sorry, everything she did was a calculation, "How is that girl?"

"Olivia."

"Olivia."

"I fucked up," He told her honestly - because what the hell did it matter?

"Literally?"

"I'm not Dad," He said firmly, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the wall, "I got jealous and stupid, and I hurt her with something that I said and the way i treated her. She broke up with me."

"Well, Fitzgerald," His mother's voice was almost sing-song, "Your father and I tried to tell you, passion is too unstable. You never got jealous with Mel-"

"Mom, stop," Fitz said, "Could you please just listen to me, just for a second? Then you can go on pretending like I don't have a brain of my own."

She didn't reply, so Fitz took that as a 'Fine, Fitzgerald, I'll humor you'.

"I love Livy," He told her as he sat up on the desk, "It's like I was sleep walking through whatever you and Dad decided I was supposed to do - and Liv woke me up. She's in the same room as me and I can barely contain myself. I get jealous of everyone who could possibly get closer to her - and she's the only thing that matters to me anymore. I want to be successful, I want to make a difference, but Olivia's changed me. She's made me such a better person. I will fight for her, I'll chase her to the end of the earth if I have to, but I'm not letting her go. I love her, Mom - there's no point to anything without her there."

* * *

Their commanding officers came by and shut everyone's doors out of a sign of respect. There was Navy guy who came and shut his and Ben's cockpits while the other ones were shut by the corresponding officers. He took a deep breath and started up the engine as they got into a line for take off. He was nervous. Nervous that he would crash, or something would go wrong. He had been incredibly lucky so far - and he was terrified that he wouldn't be able to get back to Olivia. He took another deep breath as he heard his radio click on - but there was nothing there. Everyone was silent, even the the crew back at the carrier as they took off and headed east.

"You ok, Fitz?" Jay asked him - Fitz wasn't sure if he actually wanted to know or if he just needed some noise.

"I'm fine," He told him, "How are you doing back there?"

"Good," Jay replied, "You just keep thinking about whatever's going to bring us home safe, ok? Maybe that girl you're always calling."

"Am I flying the right way?" Fitz teased, he was following one of the Airforce guys' lead, "I'd hate to end up somewhere else."

"Would you?" Jay joked and Fitz chuckled a little bit.

"The windspeeds are about to pick up," Fitz heard over his radio, "We're going to reroute you all and come into the came from the west side, meaning you're going to do a loop around it. Gus."

"Yes?" Fitz heard Gus come over the radio.

"Take the second alternate route," They were instructed, and suddenly they were all veering right.

"Yes, sir," He replied and Fitz stayed silent.

He followed them in formation, he was in the middle of the pack - right on the edge. The majority of their practice that week had simply focused on being in the air together, being able to fly in formations, and getting to know how everyone was thinking. The Airforce guys had taken the leadership spots amongst them, and that was just fine with Fitz. All he wanted to do was get the mission done, and go home.

* * *

"You're the brain, right?" said Gus - one of the Airforce pilots as Fitz sat down to dinner about mid-week.

Fitz wasn't sure he liked Gus, he had sort of become the defacto leader of the group. Honestly to Fitz it seemed like Gus had taken Top Gun a little too seriously when he had seen it. He even had the Tom Cruise haircut from the movie and wore shades when it wasn't necessary to wear them. He was a good flyer, but he was cocky, and Fitz didn't really like that. By now everyone knew each other's names except for him - like he was too good, or too busy to learned them.

"I guess," Fitz replied simply as he took a bite of his sandwich and the rest of the pilots came to sit down.

Fitz finished his food and got up - trying not to make that big a deal of it. They had probably all noticed that he wasn't exactly the most talkative. It didn't matter to them though, he was a good flyer, he carried his weight and could easily be shown as someone who was going to contribute nicely. He had been doing well in target rounds, and was actually not half bad. He walked out into the hallway and over to the telephone room.

"Hey, Fitz," Stephen answered on the second ring, "How's Texas?"

"Ok," He replied as he hopped up and took his usual seat on the desk, "How is she, Stephen?"

"it's always all about Olivia with you isn't it," Stephen teased him, "You're not going to ask me how I am - actually no, please don't. It might be a little creepy."

"Stephen."

"She's - a mess, Fitz," Stephen said, "Same as she has been all week - you really did a number on her, you know."

"Yeah she did one on me too," He said, "Shit, I hate this. Take care of her, ok?"

"I am," He said, "But I only ill until you get back to do it yourself."

"That's the plan," Fitz replied as he rubbed his eyes, "Just make sure she doesn't run off with anybody until I can at least be there an apologize."

"I don't know," Stephen said, "If I can find anything to get her out of her room, I'm going to try it. But, she hasn't left it except for her classes, so I don't think that that's really a problem - as long as you get back soon."

"It's not going to be that long," Fitz told him, "I should be back Wednesday the latest."

"When're you shipping out?" Stephen asked him.

"Tonight," Fitz replied.

"You sure you don't want me to figure out a way to make her realize-"

"No," Fitz told him, "Don't tell her, and don't figure out a way to make her figure it out. She needs time, Stephen. It has to be on her terms - or in person so that she can actually see me."

"You're insane," He said and Fitz rolled his eyes.

"I miss her like hell."

"You'd be missing her anyways," Stephen pointed out and then he sighed heavily, "Well I'm supposed to go to dinner with Abby and her in a few minutes - so I should go."

"Ok," Fitz said sadly as one of the other guys came into the room, "Stephen-"

"Yeah?"

"Has she asked about me yet?"

"She's wanted to," Stephen said simply, "I can see it. She's worried, Abby said she's been having nightmares - I don't think she remembers them though."

"Thanks, Stephen," Fitz said.

"Be safe, man," Stephen said and they hung up.

* * *

They were nearing their target, and all Fitz could do was feel like there was something wrong. He tensed up, they had taught them in training the first time around that your gut was your best friend in the air. He took a peek over his shoulder - and saw that Jay had noticed too. Something had shifted, the silence was deafening - Fitz fell back, slowing down. Then, there it was - what he and Jay had sensed as soon as they were in the airspace of it. The lead plane, Gus's plane, was first - because it was the first one that they saw.

Gus and his plane exploded into a fiery ball of flames, it was quick. He wasn't even sure if they would have seen it coming. Fitz could feel the heat coming off the flames started to fall from the ball of fire, which was now starting to sink in the sky - starting to fall back down to the ground. It was like it was something beautiful, slow, and terrifying all at the same time, he navigated around it as shots started being fired at random at them, and they started to shoot back at the camp. People were screaming, yelling, and dying in his ear over the radio as he watched the other planes fall out of the air. He took a deep breath as Ben's plane started to spiral off down to the ground - and he took more height.

He streamlined his focus - he wasn't going down, he couldn't. Everything he had worked that hard to have, everything that he wanted - he couldn't let it end like this. So, he climbed up higher into the atmosphere as the other planes attempted to dodge the bullets and things that were being shot up at them. He could hear Ben still yelling - his plane still falling - and he had to rip the radio out of his ear. He regrouped - out of range and tried to figure out what was going on. Below him was chaos, they had known or at least seen them coming.

He heard Jay saying something in his ear, but he couldn't stop and listen to him. He was looking down at the camp - trying to spot the armory. He finally spotted it, and nose-dived. The sooner they got to it - particularly under the guise of chaos - the fast they could get out. he weaved and dodged falling planes as he went straight towards it. He heard shots hitting the side of his plane, but also himself rapid firing at the target. Then, there was the explosion, the whole camp going up in flames as Fitz attempted to steer away from it - his face burning as he climbed for more altitude.

Then, as he started to fly back towards the carrier, he looked behind him noticing that no one was there. All the planes had gone down and all that was behind him was a big fiery, smokey, mess. He could feel a tugging towards the right of the plane and realized that his left engine had gone out. He was flying lopsided, and there was blood near his eye - from his helmet digging into his head. He tried to keep the plane even as he flew the shortest distance that he could figure on how to get back. He wasn't sure what kind of shape the plane was in - but he was not going down.

"Jay," He called, inside the cockpit was loud, wind was whipping in through some of the bullet holes in the glass - including several that were in the windshield - he was flying low, and slow, fighting the wind to stay steady on one engine, "Jay which is the quickest way back to the hanger?"

No answer.

"Jay?" He turned and looked into the backseat.

Jay was slumped over - at least unconscious with blood all over his clothes. Fitz turned back around and exhaled heavily, terrified. If Jay was in that shape, what did he look like? Was his adrenaline just running so fast that he couldn't feel it? If so, he had to keep it up. He focused in on the carrier that he managed to see on the horizon.

"Jay," He called, not sure how he was going to manage to land the plane, "Jay, you're ok. You're ok. You're ok."

He closed his eyes for a split second, trying to calm down. He took a deep breath and tried to strategize how he was going to land. He couldn't slow the plane down enough for it to be safe, and he didn't trust himself to land it normally on just one engine. He could feel control of the plane starting to pull away from him - and he took a deep breath. All he could think of was that he was going to die - just like everyone else. Like Jay sitting behind him with bullets ridden through his body. He breathed in and saw Olivia - the day they had gone to the beach. The way she was looking out over the pond, sitting on that piece of dock waiting for him. She was waiting for him, and he would rather die trying to get back to her than giving up.

He took a deep breath, and nearly completely cut the engine, slowly coming to the edge of the carrier. He touched down, and the plane started to jostle. Then he saw sparks, and flames starting to envelop the sides and front of the plane as it came to a stop. The heat was intense, and he could feel everything start to hurt. He couldn't breath because of the smoke that was starting to fill the cockpit, and he tried to hit the button to release the glass but it wasn't working. He reached down to try and get his seat belt off - but the clasp wouldn't budge - it had been damaged in the heat.


	17. All Things Considered

Skylines  
Chapter Seventeen: All Things Considered

Stephen walked out of the room, his phone just about glued to his ear. Abby escorted Olivia over to the couch as Harrison went over to the cabinet and took out the cleaning supplies. Abby got her settled in on the couch with her blanket and a pillow behind her back. She was vaguely aware that Harrison was cleaning up her vomit, but it wouldn't really click in her brain. Nothing would really click in her brain. She just stared, not really seeing anything, at the TV. That was until Abby picked up the remote and shut the it off.

"Turn it back on," Olivia said, not taking her eyes off the now dark screen.

"Olivia," She replied, looking surprised that she had found words, "Do you really think it's the best thing to be doing right now?"

"What am I supposed to do, Abby? Fits could be- Fitz is-" Olivia said, unable to finish the thought, "If you have a better option, please inform me. However, as long as Stephen is standing safely in the hallway, I don't think you really get a say."

Abby didn't have a response for this, but she didn't move to turn the TV on either. Harrison went over and threw out what he had been using to clean. He looked over at Abby like she had lost her mind and turned the TV back on for Olivia.

She was barely aware of their actions, her last words to Fitz playing over and over again in her head. Not one I love you from either one of them in the whole conversation. He had been mad about her hanging out with Edison - well if by some miracle he came home to her Edison was so far out of the picture that he could be sent to Mars. Why? Why on earth did she tell him to go off and get himself killed? The look on his face when she had turned to storm out of the apartment was haunting her mind.

"Just leave it on, Abby," Harrison shot her a glare.

"... We are just getting word in now that the youngest man was a pilot of just twenty three years old," the newscaster said as they started the show again after a commercial, "We are just getting the names of those lost now. From the Army we are told that air officers James Killion and Patrick Yearnt's planes went down some couple of minutes into the mission that they were on. The Airforce's list of losses is much more extensive, please bear with me - I'd like to get through all the pilots first. Pilots Guisseppe Mion, and Terrance Dossier's aircrafts were apparently among the first to go down. Then from the Navy was Benjamin Tate, and the youngest pilot among the group, Fitzgerald Grant III, who was the son of Governor Grant of California. We have unconfirmed reports that Grant was the last pilot in the air who actually managed to complete the mission before going down. Oh- we have pictures and a side-show of all those we lost, including the navigators who I have yet to get to, trying to protect Kuwait from their neighboring Iraq..."

Stephen was now standing in the doorway, his phone pressed into his chest like he was afraid whoever he had been on the phone with could hear the silence in the room. Olivia put her full attention back on the screen as they started to play the pictures. They were apparently going in order of death, the previously unnamed navigators matched up with their corresponding pilots. Fitz would be at the end, and Olivia was certain that she wasn't ready for that. Stephen walked over from the doorway and put his hands on her shoulders in a show of support.

"Jake's on his way," Olivia vaguely heard Stephen tell Abby as he hung up the phone:

Olivia tried to brace herself as they flashed his Navy photo onto the screen. His birthdate and that day's date showed in a contrasting color at the bottom. He had that amazing crooked smile, and his hair was gelled down - his curls trapped under it. She hated it, she had always hated it, and now she always would. That picture was nothing but a poor representation of him.

* * *

"Fitz, what're you doing?"

She was all curled up in his bed in the Newport house, the covers were pulled up over her head like she was hiding from him. It was the first weekend that she had from Yale. He was in really high spirits because he had just started his leave job on Beacon Hill. Going down for Labor Day had been his idea to squeeze the last bit of summer out of both the house and them. Fitz was kneeling next to the bed in his boxers, peeking under the covers at her face.

"I'm surveying," He replied with a mischievous smile.

"Surveying? Surveying what?" She smirked as he pulled back the covers and placed himself over her.

"How much I love you," He answered as his long crooked nose touched her little button one.

"You're ridiculous," She smiled against his lips as she ran her fingers through his soft beautiful hair, "And you're adorable."

"Adorable?" He made a face.

"Sorry," She smiled in a way that told him that she wasn't really at all, "Sexy, manly, overpoweringly erotic."

"Well there you go," He smirked as her hands started to travel around his chest, his arms, his abs.

"You have no idea what that little smirk does to me."

"Oh?" He did it again just to watch her face.

She tried to lean up so that she could kiss him, but he managed to stay out of her reach. She let her head fall back down onto the pillow with a pout and watched his heart melt in his eyes as he watched her. She wrapped her arms up around his neck and tried to pull down on it, but he didn't budge. She gave him a coy little smile and he just smirked.

"Would you just get your face down here so I can kiss it?" She finally said and he leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Like that?" He asked shyly as he pulled away again, "Or like this?"

He leaned down again and she could feel her heart beating in her chest as he took her lips passionately in his - gently. He was always gentle with her. His finger grazed her sides as if he was handling something particularly fragile rather than another human being. He got to her hip and started to run his palm around it - the effects were quite clear, that being one of his favorite places to play.

"Mmmmmm babe," She moaned dreamily as she broke off her mouth from his.

"Well what about like this?" He asked as he leaned over and kissed the side of her neck, near the corner of her jaw.

"Fitz," She said and he stopped so that she could catch her breath - his eyes sparkling down at her as the sun came through the window and reflected off of them.

"We were planning on being productive today," He remembered as she snuggled up against him.

"I don't want to be productive," She said as she buried her head into his chest, "I want to lay in bed with my insanely sexy boyfriend - run my hands periodically over his amazing body - and pretend that it's not Sunday and I don't have to go to classes tomorrow."

He smirked.

"Funny. I was thinking something along those same lines," He replied as he scooted down so that he was eye level with her, "Except I really just want to hold this girl - the love of my life, the one who's snuggling up to me right now. And she can do whatever she wants, daydream, take a nap, but I am going to hold her in bed all day."

"I love you," She beamed up at him and leaned down and kissed her tenderly - his hand cupping the side of her tiny face.

* * *

"Well why don't you get off the phone with me and try and call her, Mum," Stephen said as Olivia curled herself up in a ball on the couch, "Ok, Mum. Call me once you've talked to her, ok? Bye."

"Your mom?" Abby asked, they had all been alarmed when Stephen's phone had rung for the second time - except for Olivia of course.

"She can't get in touch with Aunt Bridget."

Harrison sat down next to Olivia on the couch and tried to put an arm around her. She flinched and pulled away from him. She looked at him minorly apologetically and he nodded - he understood.

"Well maybe you should be calling her too," Abby said as Olivia coiled up a little more, "Do you have your Uncle's number?"

"Liv," She peeled her eyes from the TV to see Jake just about running into their dorm room towards her.

"She doesn't want to be touched," Harrison and Abby warned him at the same time and he stopped right before he got to her.

They had long since muted the TV, and Olivia didn't have the energy or the will to ask them to turn it back on. They kept flashing pictures of Fitz though. She assumed that he was getting the most media attention because he was a little more high profile than the other pilots and people that had been killed.  
Y  
"Livy, do you mind if we turn the TV off now?" Stephen asked as he was dialing - it was starting to get to him as reality.

"Do not call me that," She snapped, "You have no right - You can't just-"

"Liv, it's ok," Jake said as he replaced Harrison beside her.

"Hello? Aunt Bridget?" Stephen said into the phone - apparently he had gotten through as he walked out onto the hall, "Slow down."

"It's ok, Olivia," Jake told her, "You can yell, scream, do whatever you want, ok? You get to be however you want."

"TURN THE VOLUME BACK ON!" Stephen just about yelled as he stepped back into the room - the phone pressed so tight to his ear that it looked like it might snap in half.

Harrison just about hurtled the coffee table - completely forgoing the remote to turn it up actually on the TV instead. He was hitting the "Volume +" button so fast that by the time he stopped it was almost too loud for hem to decipher what he news anchor was saying. There was a large picture of Fitz back up on the screen and the anchor was talking while they showed it.

"...as we were saying we seem to have just gotten information in the last ten minutes that the last pilot, Fitzgerald Grant of the Navy, the youngest flyer involved in the mission is alive. We are told he is in critical condition at a Swiss hospital this evening."

Olivia took a breath like she had been held underwater - she was still shaking but she felt an overwelming wave of relief fall over her. Stephen had to block his ear so that he could hear Bridget over the phone as Jake, Abby, and Harrison cheered loudly.

"Ok," Stephen said as he hung up and the news anchor himself reappeared on the screen.

"Shh. Shh. Shh." Harrison said and they all fell quiet again.

"...Grant reportedly completed the mission within the chaos of the other planes falling around him, then flew his plane five miles on one engine and part of his wing missing, his navigator shot dead in the seat behind him. We're being told that his injuries are extensive - having crash landed on the carrier and having to be dragged out of its wreckage."

"That's our boy," Harrison said punching the air with his fist.

"Liv," Stephen said over Harrison and Jake's celebration, "Pack up. You and I and Jake are leaving tonight."

"What?" Olivia said, and Jake paused to listen, "They just said he's in Switzerland."

"They also just announced him with the casualties," Stephen pointed out, "They're a little behind. Aunt Bridget said they have him in the air on the way to Bathesda right now. If we drive we'll probably get there around the same time."

"I'll let your parents know," Abby said and Olivia gave her a n out of left field expression, "They called earlier when you were in your scary catatonic state - Just don't worry about it."

Olivia packed up while Stephen went back to his apartment with Jake so Stephen could pack and Jake could hijack some of his clothes. They left the TV on, they were now analyzing the flight that the team had taken, and trying to figure out exactly how far Fitz had flown - without his navigator - back to the ship. Abby turned it off and Olivia couldn't really bring herself to care. Until she physically saw him she was going to continue to shake, and worry - so it didn't matter what they were saying about him on the news. Harrison had been watching it, but he didn't really put up a fuss. Olivia was still in no shape to form complete sentences, so Harrison called her parents to fill them in on what was going on while Abby put three bottles of water, and a snack for each of them into a bag while she made Stephen a cup of coffee.

An hour and a half later the three of them were piled into Stephen's car on the way down to Maryland. Olivia laid across the back seat with a blanket over her as Stephen drove, Jake up in the front seat with him making sure he stayed awake. Olivia's heart was racing - she knew she should get some sleep, she was exhausted, but she just couldn't. She needed to see Fitz, she needed to see for herself that he was alive. She needed to know exactly what those extensive injuries were - and she needed to know that he would be ok.

"Liv," Stephen said like he was waking her up, turning around in his seat as the pulled into the hospital parking lot, "Liv, we're here."

They got out of the car and headed straight for the hospital door - the news crews were by the front. So, they ducked by them carefully and went right into the front Lobby.

"Who're you here for?" The secretary behind the desk asked as soon as they walked in, "If your reporters you have to stay outside with the rest of them."

"We're here to see Fitzgerald Grant," Stephen told her as they walked over, "We're not reporters. I'm his cousin."

"His family already came through here," She said pointedly, then looked over at Olivia, "I bet you're about to say this girl's his girlfriend - well she came through with his parents and his sister."

"What?" Olivia said, and Jake put a hand on her shoulder as a nurse walked out of the doors next to the doors, she froze when she saw Olivia.

"Oh my God," The nurse said, looking at her for a long minute, "You're here to see Grant, aren't you?"

"Yes," Olivia looked at her concernedly, "How did you..."

"Come with me, all of you," She replied, leading them through the door and into the ICU - leading them through a series of hallways, "I'd recognize you anywhere. The hospital in Switzerland sent over his personal effects - and I found your picture in his pocket..."

"Stephen," Jerry said, he stood up from the couch he was sitting on with Hollis Doyle and Mellie, "What're you thinking bringing her here? She broke his heart - she's probably the reason he crashed."

"You have fun," The nurse excused herself, looking more than a little frightened.

"Liv has every right to be here. And you know her causing the crash is a whole lot of bullshit," Stephen said, for one of the first times in Olivia was seeing him get angry, "I'd like to ask what the hell those two are doing here. Olivia's here because he would want her to be if he had a say - they're here because you said they should be. If he sees them before he sees Olivia he'll wish he had died out there."

"What is going on out here?" Bridget said angrily as she and Arianna walked out into where they were all standing around.

Arianna ran right over to Olivia and clung to her.

"How is he?" Olivia asked her and she shrugged.

"He looks better than you'd expect," Bridget told her, "They treated him for smoke inhalation and triaged him in Switzerland. Then sent him straight over here. He just got out of surgery - They had to put a metal rod in his leg, and removed a bullet from his shoulder, and his chest. He's all scratched and bruised, almost all of his ribs were broken when they pulled him out of the plane. You can go right in and sit with him, Olivia. He's not awake yet - but you can hold his hand."

Olivia, and just about everyone else in the room was taken aback. Jerry was looking at her like she had just grown about seven extra heads, and Hollis looked like he was about to tear a limb off of someone. Arianna was tugging on Olivia's arm to try and lead her away to Fitz - but Olivia was scared to move - particularly with the way Hollis and Big Jerry were glaring at both her and Bridget. Mellie was just sitting there, watching Olivia rather smugly - like she knew something Olivia didn't.

"What do i tell my daughter then?" Hollis piped up.

"Bridget - what?" Jerry stopped - not because he didn't have anything to say, but because Bridget talked over him.

"The way I see it you and your 'big plan' nearly killed our son," She said, face threatening to turn into a shade of red that scared just about everyone in the room, "But somehow, miraculously, he is alive - and you know what? I have a pretty good feeling that Olivia has a very close relationship to making that happen. But even if she didn't - My son loves her, and my son is alive so he gets her. And Hollis I don't really know what to tell Mellie - you two and your wife have brainwashed her into this stupid plan - and I'm sorry for whatever part that I took in it. However, I suggest you get someone to teach her some self respect, because I sure as hell wished someone had taught me some when I was her age. That way she can move along onto her next victim instead of chasing a boy who never really had any interest in her in the first place but had been beaten down and bullied into taking her out."

Olivia watched as Mellie's face fell, nearly everyone in the room was silent with shock.

"This is about to become a shit show," Stephen mumbled under his breath to Olivia as Arianna continued to tug on her sleeve, "Go with Ari."

Olivia finally gave in to Arianna's tugging and she pulled her off behind the door she and her mother had just come through. She led her down a short hallway - they could hear them starting to yell again in the waiting room. She was glad she wasn't there anymore. Ari stopped a few feet down the hallway outside a room. The shade were drawn on the room, and she took a deep breath as she reached for the door knob.

"I have to go, they're nicer to each other when I'm there," Ari said.

"Ari!"

She turned around and ran back towards the waiting room as Olivia prepared herself a little bit to open the door. Would he be mad at her? She didn't care - they'd figure something out. He had been flying with a picture of her in his pocket. She opened the door and walked inside.

"Livy," She heard him say - completely out of it as she walked into the room, "I thought I heard you out there."

"Fitz," She breathed.

Looked small in the bed, and for the first time weak. He was propped up on pillows and watching her as she walked in. He had cuts and nicks all over his face, and you could see the outline of where his helmet had been. His neck was almost black in either a bruise or from the smoke. She assumed it was the smoke to his skin because it wasn't bandaged his left hand was completely covered in bandages. His leg - she assumed the one that they had had to fix - was in a sling handing from the ceiling, and she could see another couple of bandages popping out underneath his hospital gown.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked as she sat down cautiously on his right side.

"I heard yelling - they got me on the good stuff apparently though, I can't feel a thing." He said as he turned his arm to show her the palm of his hand - she took hold of it, "I'm so so sorry, Livy. I love you more than anything - I was a complete jackass."

"Baby, it's ok," She said as she reached up and stroked the side of his hair.

"No, it's not," He replied, he hadn't been joking about the drugs, "I hurt you."

"It's ok, Fitz," She said and he attempted to shake his head.

"Ow."

"Don't try to move too much," She told him.

"Jay's dead?"

"Who's Jay?"

"My navigator," He coughed.

"Yes," Olivia told him.

"They're all dead."

"Yes," Olivia told him as she stood up, leaning over and kissing him softly, "But you're not."

"I'm not," He told her as he squeezed her hand faintly, "I told you I'd always come back."

"I'm so sorry about what I said," She told him, "I love you, I was mad and angry, but that's no excuse- I figured we would figure it out when you got back. I saw your missed calls this afternoon, I tried calling but Stephen said you were already gone - when the news reported you dead..."

"They reported me dead?" He questioned, "I talked to my dad on the phone at the first hospital before they sent me here..."

"In Switzerland?"

"Yeah," He said.

"Well don't worry about it now," Olivia told him, leaning down and kissing him again, "You're alive - and you're Fitz, that's all that matters."

"My Livy," He smiled faintly as he leaned in slightly to her stroking his hair.

"I love you."

* * *

A/N: So I'm starting to come to terms with this fanfiction being one of those with a zillion chapters - I usually keep it to about twenty, but we're barely into the plotline here... soooo yeah... but yes :) I believe that's the Olitz we need. :) Hope you all enjoyed and leave me a quick note, they make my day :)


	18. Discharged

A/N: Hey everyone... the President Bush referenced is the first Bush... and hope you all enjoy it :)

Skylines

Chapter Eighteen: Discharged

The couple of days after he had woken up with Olivia by his side were all a blur to Fitz, which he mostly attributed to the copious amount of drugs his doctors had him on. People of varying importance trying to come and see him, but only a few actually getting in. It was the ICU for Christ's sakes. The Governor of Maryland came in once or twice, his Admiral from before the mission, the Secretary of the Navy, and a photographer from one of the major newspapers with each one of them. It didn't really matter though, Olivia was with him the whole time - which was all he really wanted. He worried about Olivia being there all the time, missing her classes - he was ok, he was going to be fine. A week later when they took him out of the ICU, they lowered his dosage, and he asked to be transferred up to Boston. He was transferred up that night - against his father's will, but his mother arranged a private flight to take them all up to Boston, together. His mother, Olivia, a couple of EMTs just in case, and his Auntie Mae who had shown up not long after he had woken up.

"I can't believe you're making them transfer you," Olivia said, holding his hand on the plane.

"You've already missed a week of classes," He told her from his bed.

They had borrowed a friend of his father's plane, and secured him right in his hospital bed into one of the back rooms of the plane. His Father had flown back to California that morning, and they had sent Ari back to school as soon as he had gotten through a couple nights in the ICU. Stephen had had to go back for a test around the time they sent Ari off, and he had taken Jake with him. He inferred from the way his father had spoken that Mellie and Hollis had been there originally, but he never saw either of them. He felt bad that Liv had had to deal with them - however briefly. It was quite clear that him being announced dead had really shaken her up, and he understood that. He wanted nothing but to be able to take those minutes away from her, but he didn't know how he could.

"It was spring break," She shrugged, as she reached over and brushed his hair from his face, "I'm much more worried about taking care of you."

"Well I have doctors and nurses for that right now," He replied, taking a deep breath - an action that had just recently stopped hurting, "I'm not even in all that much pain. But you refuse to go, which I don't blame you - so I'll be in Boston, you can go to school, and come see me at night."

"It's the weekend again, though," She pointed out to him, and he nodded.

"And odds are I'll be in there for another couple weeks. They won't officially discharge me until I'm walking with a cane - that's gonna be a while," He said, and she nodded, "You can't miss that much school, and you insist on being around to take care of me..."

"And look how much better you look," She smiled at him, "Your hand looks great, your face is back to normal, and your neck isn't black anymore."

"Due to some intense scrubbing on your part - and my hand was always fine - I just had so many stitches in it they had to wrap it up," He noted as she leaned down and kissed him, "And what exactly was wrong with my face?"

"Nothing, it just had cuts all over it," She said, stroking the side of his cheek, "You're very handsome though."

"Oh? Now I am?" He teased her and she rolled her eyes as she tucked a loose hair behind his ear.

"You're always sexy," She told him as she leaned down and kissed kissed him softly.

"Beautiful," He smiled up at her as she sat back down.

He couldn't hide the pained expression on his face as he tried to slide over on the mattress. She got back up with a start, and he motioned for her to stop as she tried to get to him to help. He scooted over just enough so that there was a small lane of space beside him on the side she was standing by. He used his arm strength to move his injured leg, and made enough space for her. He smiled up at her as he patted the bed.

"C'mon up," He told her, and she shook her head.

"No," She said, and he made a disgruntled face - shamelessly making her feel guilty.

"A week ago you thought I was dead," He said, with a mischievous smile, "And you won't come up here and let me hold you? Cold, cold woman."

"I don't want to hurt you - your ribs aren't fixed yet," She excused and he rolled his eyes.

"My ribs are fine," He said, "I'm not asking you to jump up and down on them. I'm asking you to let me hold you - as best as I can manage."

"Fine," She conceded and very carefully climbed onto the bed, and gently snuggled up to his side as he worked extra hard to mask the pain - wrapping an arm around her, "It's good to see you not completely drugged up."

"Really? Say anything entertaining did I?" He asked, and she smiled, kissing the side of her head.

"You introduced me to the SECNAV with the title 'Princess' in front of my name," Olivia told him, and he smirked.

"So nothing out of the ordinary then?" He said, kissing the side of her head.

"You're lucky you were stoned and already injured," She told him as she reach up and caught his face - making him look at her, "Don't you ever call me that ever again."

"Ok," He said, smiling innocently as she leaned up and kissed him again, "I love you. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For loving me so much," He said, carefully stroking the side of her hair.

"What?" She said, she was confused, and he kissed her forehead.

"I never went a flight without a picture of you," He told her.

"I know, the nurse found it in your pocket," Olivia said, "That's how I got into the ICU."

"It's all I could think about, when I was up there," He said, as he caressed down her arm softly, "The fight we had, how stupid I was - how desperately I just wanted to get back to you. How I couldn't let myself get killed like no one cared about me, because people do care about me - you care about me. I had responsibility to you above everyone else to come back, it would ruin everything if I died out there like that. You love me, and it's not that you love me for who I can be, you love me for me. That's why I'm thanking you."

Olivia was silent, he had had a feeling that she wouldn't know how to respond. It wasn't a problem, he used the hand that wasn't all stitched up to tip her chin up and kiss her softly. She settled her head back down on his chest, and he ran his hand up and down her back. She was asleep within a matter of minutes, and Fitz wasn't entirely sure, but he had a hunch it was the first time she was getting a good rest since she had heard the news report. He stroked the side of her head as he leaned in as best he could to kiss the top of her head.

"You've got quite the girl there, Fitzgerald," His mom walked into the room, "I just came in to check on you two."

"We're doing ok," He whispered back.

"Good, she's finally getting some rest," She mused, and Fitz smiled, "She's a little fighter that one."

"I know," Fitz smiled as he played with a strand of her hair between his finger tips.

"Should she be up there with you?"

"She shouldn't be anywhere else," Fitz told her as she sat down beside the bed, "Besides, I had to guilt her into coming up anyways."

"She's great," His mom said, and Fitz nodded, "I'm sorry I took so long to realize."

"It's ok," He told her, "From what I've gathered, you were the one to make sure she got to me."

"I called Stephen," She told him, nodding, "She makes you happy, Fitzgerald - and she loves you, and you love her. You deserve to be happy, and to be loved. Everyone deserves to be able to be with the person they love - that's why I'm divorcing your father."

"Finally," Fitz said, and she nodded.

"We're going to have to put it on hold for a while," She said, "Ariana's barely recovered from you. We have to give her an adjustment period."

"I'm proud of you, mom," Fitz told her as he leaned down and kissed Olivia's head.

"I'm proud of you, Fitzgerald."

They landed in Boston not too much later, where they made sure that the ride didn't misplace anything, or cause any complications. After that they went through all that, he was delivered to his private room on the top level of the hospital. They said it was because he was a high profile patient, which was apparent when he saw all the news crews outside the window of his room. Olivia sat with him, watching them nervously as the occupational therapist came to help him start move his leg. He winced in pain, gritting his teeth together while Olivia tried to get him to squeeze her hand - but he used his other hand on the safety bar of his bed instead.

"Fitzgerald," His mother said as she walked in, the therapist walking out.

"What?" Fitz asked, Olivia wiping the sweat from his brow.

"The Secretary of the Navy is coming to visit you again in the morning," She told him, and he nodded, "He heard that you were out of the ICU. President Bush extended an invitation to the White House for as soon as you're feeling up to it."

"What?" He asked, raising his eyebrows - shocked.

"Honey, you're an American hero," She said, and Fitz just looked at her, confused.

"What're you talking about?"

"Olivia," She said, handing her the remote to the TV, "I don't know how to work these things very well."

Olivia nodded and turned on the TV, flipping away from the baseball game to the news station. She then sat on the edge of his bed, the side with his good leg, and he wrapped an arm around her as he watched.

"...Big news tonight, Lt. Fitzgerald Grant was transferred up to Mass General hospital this evening," The news anchor announced over the air, "He was taken out of the ICU this morning, the morning that we buried his navigator, Jason Lydon down in Kentucky. His was the only body recovered from the mission - non word yet on when the rest of the families are planning on holding services. It has been rumored that Grant will be on the receiving top honors from each of the branches of the armed forces that were involved in the mission. Along with the Purple Heart."

"Your father will be here in the morning," She said, then tried to assure her, "They promised that they were coming, giving him honors, taking a few pictures and leaving."

"I can handle it, Liv," Fitz said as he ran a circle with his hand on her back, "And if at any time while they're here you think I'm not, I'll ask for a break, ok?"

She gave him a look, she knew he was handling her with kid gloves, but she didn't argue. She would be by his side the whole time, he wouldn't allow it any other way. She would be sitting there with him in all the pictures as he was getting the medals, not only did it make sense - but it would also more than make up for the magazine cover. He wasn't sure why he was getting them, all he did was do what he was supposed to do, but he didn't really care about them. He had missed Jay's funeral.

"I want to meet Jay's family," He voiced, and his mother nodded.

"I can arrange it," She said, "Would you like them to come up tomorrow too?"

"No, I want to visit them, once I'm out," He said, and his mother nodded.

"Ok, I'll see if they'd like to meet you," She said as she left the room.

"I'm no hero," Fitz told Liv as she leaned back, lying next to him in bed, "I flew up, away from the battle, out of firing range. I was terrified, all I wanted to do was get out. I spotted the target, shot at it from as far away as I could that it would actually work, and flew away."

He could still hear them, all of them screaming to their deaths as he flew upwards. He could hear Jay calling for him, but still couldn't make out what he had said. He knew that it must have had something to do with him having gotten shot. Would he have been able to save him if he had stopped to actually listen to him? If he hadn't pulled out his radio maybe he could have radioed back and told them he was injured before he had landed. Maybe then they would have pulled Jay out before him.

"Fitz, that's what you were supposed to do," She told him, stroking his hair, "You kept your calm and you completed the mission. They knew it was risky, you all did."

"I could have saved Jay," He said, as she carefully wrapped her arms around him, "He was trying to tell me something and I ignored him."

"Fitz," She said, looking down at him in her arms, "Please don't blame yourself. You need to get some sleep, it's late - you're going to have a pretty big day tomorrow."

"Ok," He breathed, as she reached up and started stroking the side of his forehead until he had drifted off.

He was sitting on the edge of the carrier, his feet hanging off the edge as he looked down at the water. They had thrown anchor, and the seas were unnaturally calm. He was just starting to get an uneasy feeling as a body drifted by his view. He did a double take before he realized that it was Gus, his Airforce uniform tattered and torn his face burnt to a char, and beside him popped up Ben, then one by one the rest of them. He jumped up from the side too quickly, and fell right into where they were floating. He screamed, but they were floating closer to him, like they were swimming, and started to try and pull him under.

"Fitz, Fitz," Olivia said as he shot up in bed, sharp pain riddling his whole body.

"Ow," He froze, he had moved to quickly for his ribs, and his leg.

Olivia, who had apparently fallen asleep next to him, was sitting up, trying to help him back onto his back - she kissed his forehead and then hopped off the bed. She turned on the lamp on the bedside table as she made him sit up a little bit, and cleared the sweat from his face with a damp cloth. She kissed his cheek as she held a glass of water in front of his face - practically putting the straw into his mouth for him.

"Ah," He said, as he finished drinking and she put the glass down.

"Nightmare?" She asked him as she climbed back up with him and carefully stroked the side of his hair.

"Ow, yeah," He said, looking down at his ribcage - she lifted up his gown and looked down at his sides.

"You should be ok," Olivia said as she ran gentle fingers over his ribs, "They said they were healing nicely, but they would just be sore for a while, but most of them were minor fractures. Your mom exaggerated a bit. They won't move anywhere that will cause further injury is what they told me. They also told me that once you were off the heavy dosage that you might start having nightmares - they said it was completely normal given the trauma."

"That doesn't really fix anything?" He asked as she shut the light back off and snuggled up next to him.

"No," She said simply, "But you can remember that I'm right here, and that you aren't in any danger anymore."

"I don't know how much good that'll do," He replied, "But it is comforting knowing you're here."

The next morning Olivia was a wreck, and Fitz couldn't understand why. The occupational therapist came in very early with a pair of crutches. At that point she wasn't trying to get him into a transition where he was walking - but just up out of bed. She thought an increase in mobility might help rise his spirits after his nightmare the night before. After that his mother went to get his father and Arianna from the airport to bring them to the hosptial, and Olivia helped him clean up a little bit.

"You ready?" Olivia asked as she wheeled a wheel chair up next to his bed.

"For what?" He asked, they had taken his IV out the night before, when he had arrived - he was playing with the bandage.

"You need to get cleaned up, Fitz," She said, "You haven't had more than a sponge bath in a week."

"You're going to bathe me?" He asked, and she nodded as she helped him into the chair.

"You have a problem with that?" She asked and he shook his head 'no' with a great amount of enthusiasm, "I didn't think so."

"It would be preferable to be able to do it myself," He said as she wheeled him into the bathroom, "But given the circumstances...I like you taking care of me. It might be a little bit of a tease though."

"You don't mind if I use this as my shower too?"

He took a deep breath as she shut the door, not sure he had heard that right. They both knew he was in no shape for one of their usual showers - but her taking care of him was really nice. She turned back towards him as she pulled her shirt off over her head.

"You are such a tease."

They had to work on a time limit, because it would be best of they weren't still in the shower together when his parents and little sister got there. When they got out Olivia dressed quickly and then helped him dry off. She then brought him back into his room and assisted him into his dress blues for his visitors. She was helping him out of the wheel chair into the stuffed chair in the corner when his nurse walked in - Olivia was fixing his hair.

"How's the pain today?" She asked him as she handed him a small cup with his antibiotics and pain pills.

"About a seven," He replied as Olivia finished up and the nurse set his food down on the nearby table.

"That's an improvement then," She said, looking down at his chart, "You're not maxed out on any of your pills for the pain - so don't be shy to ask if you're feeling it today, ok?"

"Alright," He said, taking a deep breath, as Ari came running into the room.

"Fitz," She smiled as she approached him cautiously, "You look so much better."

"Thanks," He said as she leaned in and gave him a really careful hug, "You're not going to break me, you know."

"Good," His mother said to Olivia, "You got him into that without too much trouble?"

"Not much at all," Olivia said as the three of them - all dressed to the nines - sat down around the room.

"Knock, Knock," they heard from in the doorway - his nurse was standing there, "There's an important looking visitors here to see you. I told them I'd come and see if you were ready for them."

"I'll to meet him, it should be the SECNAV," His father jumped up self-importantly as he walked out of the room.

"Are you ready?" Olivia asked him as she leaned over and kissed the side of his head.

"I'll be ok, Livy," He told her, looking up at her with soft eyes, "I'm stronger than you think."

"I know," She said happily and he grinned up at her.

He raised a his hand and beckoned her closer to him with a single finger. She leaned in and he cupped her face in his hands as he kissed her softly. He kept it brief because he knew who was in the room - but he he couldn't keep it to a peck. He loved the feeling if her amazing lips against his, and couldn't bring himself to pull away.

"A true Navy man," The booming voice of the SECNAV was what broke away from it.

Olivia was blushing, but he just looked towards the door where his father had led in four men. One was a photographer, again, and the SECNAV, but the other two were a surprise. From the decorations on their uniforms he very quickly deduced that they were the secretaries of the Army and the Air Force.

"Sir," Fitz said, and the three of them saluted him.

"At ease, son," the man from the Army told him.

"We all wanted to come in and thank you, Commander," the SECNAV said as he pinned a ribbon onto his chest.

"Commander?" Fitz repeated like he couldn't believe his ears.

"We cannot tell you how high up the orders for that mission were, we thought it failed - but when we heard you had finished it-"

"Your country is extremely grateful," said the man from the Air Force, "But I'm sure El Jefe will tell you that too."

"The President did extend an invitation?" His father said, his ears perked up.

"His secretary called last night," Fitz's mother said.

"Well I come bringing news that I'm sure your girl there will appreciate," said as the photographer snapped photos of each of the secretaries giving Fitz a different medal.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"As of tomorrow, Commander Grant, you will be honorably discharged from the Navy," He said, and Fitz was shocked, "I mean, unless you want to fly again."

"Ah, I think I'd like my feet to stay firmly on the ground for a while, sir," He replied and the SECNAV nodded with a little smile.

"Well you've done more than your fair share," one of the other piped up.

"I'm sure your girl there is glad to hear it," The Secretary of the Air Force said as the posed around him to take a picture with him.

Fitz held on tight to Olivia's hand, and made her stay and be part of the picture - he wanted her by his side. He didn't want her to go anywhere, not even a few extra feet from his side if she didn't have to. He was starting to get a headache, and he knew that she was the only person that would be in the room once everyone left that would look out for him. Ari was just a kid - his parents wouldn't listen to her - Olivia would fight and protect him. He was a little sad to admit that that was going to be exactly what he needed, even to himself, but he did. He needed her protection - he knew she wouldn't let anything happen to him if she could help it. She had, and still did hate that they were doing this to him the first full day he was out of the ICU. He could see it on her face the whole day - but that was how his family worked. Maximum publicity.

"You ok, babe?" She asked as he started to massage his temple once his father was escorting the men out - the photographer was going to hang around.

"Just a little headache," He told her, wincing as a flash went off - yet another picture.

"Hey," Olivia whipped around, "What do you need a picture of that for? He has a headache and your flashing bright lights in his face. Go wait in the hall."

"Why is Micah in the hall?" His father asked as Olivia and Ari were helping Fitz into his wheel chair.

"The flash was bothering Fitzgerald," His mother told him, and he nodded.

"Micah, get back in here - just don't take any pictures," He called, and Fitz winced again - his father's voice going right through him.

He was tired, this was the most activity he had had for a week. He wanted to shut the lights off and go to bed, maybe ask the nurse for another pain killer. he could see Olivia watching him carefully, she was trying to get him to sip some water. She handed it to him, and he took it and started drinking as she ran her fingers through his hair. He had his eyes closed, it felt like there was a bolt of energy going through his brain. His ribs were starting ache dully in the background - as if they were only causing a fuss just to remind him they were injured too. His leg was up - but wasn't used to so much motion.

"I scheduled you an interview this evening," His father said, not really paying attention to anything but himself as he checked his tie in the mirror, "They should get here in a few minutes."

"He's not ready for that," Olivia said, her fingers pausing in his hair, "He's already starting to fade - you have to cancel that."

"I can't cancel it," He said, "I already promised them."

"He can't do it," Olivia said, and Fitz tried to pick his head up, "You're putting too much on his plate - he needs rest, he just got out of the ICU yesterday."

"He's an American Hero," His father's voice was like a nail through his throbbing brain, "He has a duty to let himself be shown. People's family members died on that mission, they died and he survived. They deserve to see him - they deserve-"

"He deserves rest," Olivia combated him, "I can't believe you're throwing all this stuff at your clearly unstable son."

"Enough," Fitz said, "I'll do the interview."

"Fitz.."

"That's my boy," His father said, and Fitz nodded.

"I owe it to them, Livy," He told her, squeezing her hand, "However, until then - you're all going to leave, with the exception of Liv. She's right I do need rest - tell the interviewer he'll have to wait about three hours."


	19. Burning and Guilt

A/N: So, hope you all enjoy the chapter :) It's kinda short, but that's just kinda the way it came out...

Skylines  
Chapter Nineteen: Burning and Guilt

As she was sitting in her Intro to Political science class, her last class of the day on Thursday afternoon - she had to admit that she was having trouble focusing. Fitz was still in the hospital, and the News stations and things had hardly laid off of him. She felt bad. He was trying to recover knowing that every day his nurses were blocking news cameras and things from his room. That was a lot of pressure for someone in a condition like Fitz's. She wished she could be up there at the hospital with him all the time - but she knew she couldn't. He had had himself transferred up to Boston so that it would be easier to go to and from, and that's exactly what she had been doing.

His parents had gone back to California right after they had given him his honors, and Olivia had spent the last couple weeks going to and from school and the hospital. She would leave in the morning when his nurse brought him breakfast, and get in after whatever her last thing at school was. She would get there just before his occupational therapist came in to bring him down to their lite gym. They figured out that he did better when she was around - he was pushing himself too hard, and when she was there she could tell when enough was enough.

"Good evening, baby," She said as she walked into his hospital room that night.

He was progressing really, the doctors had been shocked when he had started to move around a little the second week. He was in the chair when she walked in, he had healed from the majority of his injuries and they were just working on building up his strength again. The whole ordeal had devastated his strength. The doctors had told him that under any other circumstances he would be discharged, but due the facts that he would be on his own for the most part, his attitude, and his drive to be better than he was, they were scared he would hurt himself. That, and he couldn't really walk without assistance from other people. That last fact was killing him, and Olivia could see it every time.

If those all weren't reasons enough, they weren't even why she made such an effort to be there with him every night. He was fine physically, he had a lot of work to do, but his strength was coming back every day. As a consequence of him getting better, every day they lowered his med dosage. It was pretty clear with the pattern that the fact that his nightmares were getting worse and worse it was a direct effect of the lower dosages. As they were weaning him off the pain killers and drugs, he was facing more and more of what had happened to him. Olivia was worried of what would happen once he was fully off of them, and once he was out of the hospital. He had dealt, seen, and heard things that she prayed she never would - and she was terrified for him.

"How was school?" He asked her, shutting the TV off as she walked in and settled herself in his lap.

"Boring," She told him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, kissing his softly.

"Couldn't be as boring as my morning," He said as he leaned in and kissed her cheek affectionately, raising his left hand to clear hair from her face, "They had me in x-rays all morning checking on my leg and my ribs. But this afternoon they had me go hanging out with some of the kids."

"Really?"

"Apparently they've been following the story on the news," He said and she looked a little surprised, "One of the nurses came and asked if I would go down. So i played with Legos with them for a couple of hours."

"Oh," She said, leaning into his hand, "I wish I had been there for that."

She had caught his hand as he had tried to pull if away, and was inspecting it a little bit.

"They took your stitches out," She said and he chuckled as he took his hand back.

"You know it's cute you're so worried about me," He said, kissing the side of her head, "But you don't have to be."

"I'm not worried," She lied, and he rose his eye brows, immediately catching her, "You're going to be fine, Fitz. You'll be walking in no time. That's not what I'm really worried about."

"I know," He said rather grimly, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I love you," She told him, running her hand down his chest and stopping somewhere just below his navel.

"Careful," He teased her, wrapping his arms fully around her, "Kaitlin will be here in a couple of minutes to bring us down to the gym."

"I can't wait until we can get you out of here," She whispered in his ear and be smiled, letting his eyes slip closed.

"As soon as they let me out," He said as she ran her hand back up to his chest, "God, I love you so much, Livy."

"Am I interrupting something?"

A woman, tall, waltzed right into his room as if she had been there a thousand times. Olivia knew she was a therapist simply because of her uniform, but nothing else. She could tell that she wasn't going to like this one. His usual one, Kaitlin, was a middle aged mom of two teenage boys. She treated Fitz carefully, but knew how to push him. There was just something about this one that said that she was not going to have many of the same characteristics.

"You're not the therapist he usually has," Olivia said as she got off his lap.

"I'm Megan," She introduced herself to both of them, "I'm filling in for Kaitlin. Who're you? They didn't tell me at the nurses' station that he had any visitors - I can come back later..."

"No, it's fine," Fitz told her, then explained quickly, "This is my girlfriend, Olivia - she spends more time here than not."

"I imagine you gave her a scare," Megan said passively.

"Is Kaitlin sick?" Fitz asked.

"Her son got sick at school this afternoon," the new therapist told them, "She said she was going to try and get back - but we have to get you working that leg."

There was something off about this one, and Olivia didn't like it too much. She went around and grabbed hold of his wheel chair. She looked a little confused as Olivia led the way down to the gym.

"We don't usually allow guests into the gym with the patient," Megan said as they got to the door, and Fitz pouted.

"Well Liv's come with me since I started it," Fitz said as he grabbed hold of Olivia's hand, then joked, "I'm like a dog, you stick her on the other side of the room like a treat. She won't cause any problems, promise."

"Your boyfriend's quite the charmer," Megan said to Olivia - Fitz was looking up at her, but Megan was looking at him.

"Yeah, we get just about whatever we want from waitresses when we go out to dinner," Olivia said, and Fitz smirked, completely missing the pointedness of what she said.

"We get whatever _you_ want," Fitz helped the cause rather obliviously as they wheeled him into the rehab gym.

"Try and get yourself up to the bar?" She asked as Fitz struggled to get himself up.

Megan went to help him and put her hands right on his hip and his core muscles. Olivia's eyebrows shot right up into her hairline - if she had any question of what was going on here she didn't anymore. She watched Megan until it was almost awkward waiting for her to let go. Kaitlin had never touched him like that, especially for that long.

"Babe," Olivia finally said and he looked up at her as if she had rang some sort of bell.

"Yes, Livy?" He replied as Megan stepped back - letting Olivia breathe a little easier.

"Let's get you out of here," She said as she walked over to the over end of the bar.

He smiled over at her and took a step, clinging to the bar - wincing as he went to take another step. She could see the determination on his face and smiled a little to herself. He was getting it, he was getting it. She was so proud of him, as he winced and she could see the pain in his face as he tried to walk. He had wanted for so long just to get out of there - almost as soon as he realized what was going on. He was a strong man, he hated not being able to do things on his own - and Olivia could sympathize. She couldn't imagine having to be so dependent on other people to take care of her.

"C'mon, baby," She said as she took a couple steps forward to make his distance not so long.

"Turn your leg out," Megan said as she went straight over to help him do it, "Your thigh is turning in when it should be going out."

Olivia rolled her eyes, almost looking around the room for something to throw at her.

"I got it," He stopped her, then looked over at Olivia, "Liv, you stay right there."

"Ok," Olivia said, putting her hands up as if in surrender as she froze right in place.

He let go of the bar and wobbled a little bit, he used the very end of his fingers on the rail to steady himself. He limped towards her. He was slowily but steadily, and very carefully, making his wobbly way over to her. He stopped a few inches in front of her and took his hand away from the bar. He steadied himself carefully, then leaned in and kissed her softly - like the way he used to do. The way he did when he just about over powered her with himself. His chest lined up with her face just before he swooped down and kissed her. These were her favorite kind of kisses.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to be able to do that again," He smiled as he pulled away, " Megan?"

"Yes?" The optimism in her voice was alone enough to make her want to kill her.

"If could just get a cane, I'd like to walk my girl back to my room."

"Ok," She said, delivering him one, and as he leaned on it he took Olivia's hand.

The three of them walked back to the room and with each step she could feel Fitz getting stronger. Then in turn with each step she prayed that Megan would realize that she should make herself scarce.

"I'll have the doctor come by tomorrow morning and have you discharged," Megan said as they stopped outside the door.

"Thank you," Fitz said as he wobbled slightly.

Olivia knew better than to try and steady him, but Megan went right for it - deciding it was best to do so by way of pressing on his chest. She only did so briefly, but by then Olivia was furious.

"I could come by later and help you manuever the shower," She told him.

The freight train of expletives that were running through Olivia's mind would only get her kicked out of the hospital. She could see the security guards being called before she could even open her mouth. She moved over closer to Fitz a little.

"Oh, I help him with that," She said, instead of what she wanted to say.

"Oh I just assumed you were heading out," Megan smiled patronizingly,"Anyways you won't be there all the time to help him."

"Well once his leg's better he won't need anyone," Olivia pointed out, "He's a big boy. Have a good night."

They walked into the room and Olivia just about slammed the door behind them. Fitz started to chuckle a little bit.

"That was not funny," Olivia told him as he limped over to his bed and hoisted himself up to sit on the edge, "Occupational therapists should not be allowed to be flirts like that. Can you imagine what would have happened if she had blocked me from the gym like she tried to?"

"Nothing," He replied, simply, "Because I love you and you are the only woman I will ever love this much. Also, did you see her? She looked like my high school gym teacher - real handsome woman. But in all seriousness, Liv: you and me that's all it's ever going to be. However, if she had made you go away, I wouldn't be walking and I wouldn't be going home tomorrow. And honestly I didn't notice anything until the whole shower debacle - C'mere."

He opened up his arms and she walked into them, pouting. He kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her tight, then went and nuzzled his face into the side of her neck.

"That sucked."

"Now you know how I feel when I take you anywhere," He said as he stroked her hair, "But I'm out of here tomorrow morning."

"No one's offered to shower with me in front of you, or period."

"Liv," He said, smiling as he kissed her forehead, "Of the two of us, which do you think is more intimidating? Based on looks - ability to destroy people with words aside."

"You'd hit them?!"

"I almost want to hit them for looking," He replied, smirking at the thought, "I don't care who they are or what their job is. If a guy touched you in anyway that was even borderline or said anything remotely sexual to you they'd be sitting on their ass."

Vaguely comforted, Olivia helped him with his last hospital shower, and the next night drove him to his apartment. The news had somehow gotten wind that he had been released, and Olivia wondered how all the way to the doorstep. As soon as they opened the door she was all caught up. This was because they walked into the apartment to find Jerry and Bridget waiting for them.

"I informed the President that you've been discharged," were Jerry's first words, "We leave tomorrow morning for Washington. They're going to give you a purple heart, kid. Best not keep them waiting. Nothing looks better on a campaign trail as much as such a highly decorated veteran. The people are begging you to run for something, anything."

"I'm not running for anything yet," He told him somewhat angrily as Olivia helped him to the couch, "I have to heal up."

"They sent you home from the hospital, didn't they?"

"Jerry," Bridget stopped him, "You have the whole train ride tomorrow down to Washington. Let the boy rest."

Olivia settled Fitz into his bed for the night and then went out and got his parents settled into their guest room. She went back and got into her pajamas and was all ready to snuggle up with Fitz. They were finally in their own bed, and out of the hospital. This was when she realized that neither of them had a glass of water, and he would need his for his nearly nightly nightmares. At least she didn't have to worry about getting thrown from the very narrow hospital bed anymore. She got back up out of bed.

"Where're you going?" He looked miffed, like he was being cheated out of something and he just realized it.

"I'll be right back," She promised him.

Olivia leaned in and kissed his forehead before heading out the door and towards the kitchen. She got about halfway there and paused outside the closed door to the room his parents were sharing. It sounded like they were arguing in hushed tones, and she stopped to listen in, knowing that she probably shouldn't but not being able to help it.

"What's got your panties in a knot, Bridget?"

"I can't believe you're pulling this," She shot back at him, "Leave the poor boy alone, he needs to heal. It's not as if you haven't already done enough damage to him. I can't believe you went through with actually-"

"He's healing fine - he's got to grasp the popularity while it's at its peak," Jerry told her angrily, "There'll be plenty of time for him to heal up once he's got himself an elected position. He's not going to be able to just disappear and come back - that's not how things are done."

"You're acting like you didn't set this all up yourself, Jerry," She hissed back, "Like you didn't plan this whole thing out - how long did you have it planned, Jerry? How long were you planning on sending him into that kind of danger - a while. You knew not to tell me about it before hand."

"A while," He admitted, without any guily, "But it worked out much better than the way I planned it."

"You knew how dangerous that mission was," She hissed back at him, "And you nearly had him sent by name."

"I simply suggested that the mission team was to be doubled to include the second best pilots as well," He said, "And I was right, wasn't I? Fitz was the one to actually finish it off while everyone else was dying. So what if I had the rankings checked that morning? No risk no gain."

"If Fitzgerald ever finds out..."

"He won't," Jerry said, "That was part of the deal, right? You dropped that ridiculous divorce talk, and don't tell Fitz about what you found out. In turn, I made Hollis Doyle and his stupid daughter go away so that Fitz can have that girl instead. It doesn't really matter though - at this rate he could be with a homeless illegal immigrant and he'd still be a perfect candidate."


	20. Braving It

A/N: Ok guys, so here's to me trying to get my twitter off the ground... abbsishere follow, don't follow, just figured I'd put it out there - in case you'd like to read the occasional ramblings of a college student. I also put up a story on Fictionpress under the same name...(Much different than what I usually write, and even will be posting up there) Anyways, enjoy the chapter :) I can't wait for tomorrow! eek

Skylines

Chapter Twenty: Braving It.

Fitz pulled a pillow out from behind him and stuffed it under his leg carefully. He had gotten fairly used to having it elevated at least a little bit. It didn't really matter though, he was just incredibly thankful to finally be in his own bed. He had longed for that moment more than most other things, in his own bed, with his Livy by his side. He had been just waiting for it for weeks. This was why had been so caught off guard when she had gotten back up out of bed. From what he had been able to tell, she had been wanting to get him home at about the same intensity he did, if not more. Maybe it had just been Megan the night before that tipped her over the edge.

He didn't have the heart to ruin it for her then, because he still wasn't sure what he was going to do - but he was never going to let Olivia go. He had thought it was so comical when she had gotten jealous, he was certain that it was the first time she really had been - not just hurt by something one of his parents had said. He wanted to, eventually, make her his wife - he knew that now. He didn't know that he did before he left, he knew that he loved her, and that in that time he couldn't function without her. However, there were very little thoughts of marriage, it was a maybe someday off on the horizon thought. Now it was all he could think about. It was crazy, she had just started school - he would have to wait, but he didn't mind. All he wanted was to know that at the end of the day, no matter what happened.

He looked over at the door as she opened it, carefully balancing the water glasses in one hand on one arm. Something was wrong, and he could tell just by the change in the look on her face. He panicked on the inside, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong in the short walk she had had from their bedroom to the kitchen and back. He then realized that that was a stupid question, knowing who was staying under the same roof. A surge of anger ran through him - he didn't care that they were his parents - if either of them had said anything to her to upset her they'd be out on their ass. He was sick of putting up with their shit, and sick of them hurting Olivia. It wasn't happening again, he had already promised her that.

"Is everything ok?" Fitz asked as he watched her carefully, "That was a little long for a couple glasses of water."

"It's fine - I got a little sidetracked," She said, somewhat nervously as she handed him his glass of water and set her's down on her side of the bed - he took his scheduled pain meds.

"What's going on?" He asked her as he reached to put his glass on his nightstand and she curled up beside him, "Did my father say something to you?"

"It's fine," She told him as she leaned up and kissed him, "Don't worry about it, Babe."

"Did my mother say something to you?" He asked, a little more surprised this time.

"Neither of them said anything to me, Babe," She told him, leaning over and kissing the side of his head, "Don't worry about it, ok?"

"Ok," He replied, leaning in and kissing her softly.

"I have finals week after next," She told him, "Then I'm done for the summer."

"I know," He said, "It's also your birthday on Sunday."

"No it's not," She said, looking like it had come by surprised.

"Livy, you're a little young to be denying your birthday," He told her as he snuggled up, holding her as firmly in his arms as he could.

"I should call my parents tomorrow," She said as he snuggled his face up against her arm, "I haven't talked to them since I called to say they moved you to Boston."

"That's probably a good idea," He told her, leaning over and kissing her softly, "Good night, beautiful."

"Night, Babe."

The next morning Fitz watched Olivia carefully, though there was barely time or a chance for him to check in with her. From the time they woke up to the alarm at four to the time they were boarding their six'o'clock train to D.C. they were chasing their own tails trying to get ready to go. Olivia had threw together a bag for them, they'd be back at the apartment the next night, so there really wasn't much to pack. He watched as she threw his bottles of painkillers and antibiotics into her handbag, and threw an emergency couple of bottles of water into a backpack, along with a few assorted other things including a change of clothes for each of them, pajamas, and the basic necessities. He was just glad that he managed to get his dress blues on all by himself, straightening the honors the Secretaries had given him.

"You need to relax a little bit," Fitz told her as they boarded the train, he had decided to go with crutches that morning - it would be a long day on the cane.

"I'm fine," She told him as his parents followed them on and they picked their seats.

"Let me at least carry the backpack," He said, and she shook her head.

"We're going to be sitting for almost seven hours," She told him as she sat down, and he eased into the seat next to her - his parents settling in a few rows away.

"Fine," He said, setting his crutches to the side as he wrapped his arm around her, "You look exhausted - did you get any sleep last night?"

"You woke me up at midnight and two," She reminded him, as kindly as she could - and he nodded shyly.

"I'm sorry about that," He said, not sure what to say and she shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous, it's not your fault, Fitz," She told him as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"You still just seem so stressed," He commented, running his fingers through her hair softly.

"I'm fine, Fitz," She replied and he nodded as she settled herself in against his shoulder, "I think I'll try and get a nap in though if you don't mind."

"Of course not," He smiled.

She was out cold in a matter of minutes, and he held her closer to him as he tucked a lock of her hair out of her face. The ride in was somewhat quiet, Olivia slept and he read a book for the first half - until his father came over to check if they wanted anything from the snack car. This woke Olivia up right away, she almost looked startled. Fitz asked for a coffee - and Olivia told him that she was fine as she pulled out a textbook and started to study for a little bit. By the time they arrived in Washington and got off the train, there was a limousine waiting to take them to their hotel. They dropped their things off there, freshened up a little bit, and then were off to the White House.

Fitz scooted into the back, leaving the space right next to the door for her so that she wouldn't have to crawl over everyone in the dress she was wearing. However, his parents took the back bench seat, and she went around him to sit on the other side. He thought it was a little strange, but didn't really worry about it as she settled his crutches on the seats across from them for him, and handed him his cane instead.

"I bet you didn't think you'd be with a guy with a cane so early on," He teased her, leaning over and kissing the side of her head.

"Nope, you got that one right," She said, and he chuckled as the car drove to the not so distant White House.

"My God it's huge," Olivia said as the car pulled up to the sidewalk - which was covered with reporters.

"You've never been to the White House before?" Fitz asked, he was a little surprised.

"No," She replied, and he smiled.

"Well then you're in for a treat," He told her as the driver came around and opened the door for them, "I really think you'll like it."

His father led the way out, to no one's surprise dragging his mother behind him. Fitz sent Olivia out first, and then turned and helped him out of the car. The flashes from the cameras were going off like crazy as Olivia helped him straighten up after sitting for so long. He waved and smiled for the cameras, and put his free hand on the small of Olivia's back before guiding her towards the gates. He smiled as he watched her eyes expand - the Secret Service meeting them at the gates to escort them into the grounds.

"I love you," Fitz said as they were taken right into the ceremony.

They had been informed on the way up that they were fitting the ceremony in early in the day, and then they would be free. The told them that the President sent his regards, but other than the ceremony his day was almost completely booked. They would have about a half an hour with him after the ceremony, and then they would be escorted from the building so that he could go into a strategy meeting. Olivia was pretty quiet the whole time, just making sure that Fitz got his meds before they went into the Oval Office, and then sitting almost silently by his side the rest of the time. She spoke when she was directly addressed, but other than that was so silent that Fitz, who was already worried about her, was even more aware of her. She didn't even try to yell at his father when he set him up for an interview after the ceremony. He came to the conclusion that she was afraid of his father - but he just couldn't understand why.

Things went almost back to normal once they got back to Boston and his parents went back to California yet again. He attempted to help his mother with her bags, Olivia standing with them out in the parking lot while they waited for his father to finish getting everything together in the apartment. He had decided to take a nap rather than pack earlier - and was surprised when he woke up and Fitz's mother hadn't packed him all up. She huffed and they walked out with her to their car.

"So when'll I be hearing from you again, mom?" He asked as, under Olivia's close supervision, he put the bags into the back of the rental.

"It'll be a while, Fitzgerald, I hope at least," She told him as Olivia reached up and shut the trunk - there were still some movements that were hard for him.

"What about the divorce?" Fitz asked, "I was just looking for a heads up as to when that was going to start."

"It's not going to happen, Fitzgerald," She told him, and he felt Olivia tense up next to him.

"What? Why?"

"It's just not in the cards, Fitzgerald," She told him, "And this is hardly the place to discuss it."

"You wanted it," He was disappointed, and it was showing because Olivia was holding onto him tighter now, "He bullied you into staying, didn't he?"

"Don't worry about it, Fitz," She said, exasperated - and he knew not to bug her about it anymore.

She only used 'Fitz' when he was playing with fire - it was sort of reverse of most people, but it was the way she worked. His father came out of the apartment with his suitcase and Fitz took the hint to start heading back up towards the apartment with Olivia. She subconsciously started walking closer to him as his father passed - and all he could feel was his blood start to boil. He hated his anger, which usually only made it worse - but he hadn't felt that way in a very long time. He had never actually shown Olivia his angry side, mostly because he never wanted her to see that side of him.

"You look angry," Olivia noted as they walked back into the living room, and he sat down on the couch.

"I'm just a little pissed off," He told her, and she nodded as she went and sat down next to him.

"What's up?"

"My mom wanted that divorce, she's afraid of him," Fitz said, "I don't know what he said to her - but whatever it was it had to be big if it made her give up on it. She's had it in the back of her mind for years. But, that's not really why I'm angry, and if it is, it's only part of it. The big part is that you're terrified of my father - you weren't right up until the night before we left for D.C. what happened? You won't tell me. So, so I'll ask again, did he say anything to you?"

"No, he didn't say anything to me," Olivia told him firmly, and he nodded.

"Then what happened?" He asked, "One night you were standing up to him, and telling him off, the next you were almost hiding away from him."

"I don't want to talk about it, Fitz," She told him, and he nodded.

"Of course you don't," He said, and she rolled her eyes.

"Can we not fight about this?"

"Something's wrong, and you won't tell me."

"Fitz, your father doesn't like me," She told him, taking a deep breath, "He never has, and he probably never will. Don't be mad at your mom - can we just talk about something else for a while? Trust me, he didn't say or do anything to me."

"Fine."

The next day they packed up and Olivia drove them down, in Fitz's car, to her parents' house. He wasn't going to be using his car for a while - he could walk to work - and probably would anyways even if he was cleared to drive. He was within his own walking distance to the hill, and had decided that her taking the convertible with her to school for the rest of the year would be part of her birthday present. He felt bad because the present he had gotten her she wouldn't be able to use until the summer anyways. What good was a birthday present if you couldn't use it right away? He had hidden the car key in her sock - so she found it first thing that morning.

"You look so much better than I was expecting," Jayne said as Fitz and Olivia climbed out of the car at her parents' later that day, "I mean, we watched the ceremony on TV..."

"Thanks," Fitz siad, stabilizing himself on the side of the car as he shut the door.

"Babe, you don't want your cane?" Olivia asked as her dad came and gave her a hug.

"No, I'll be ok."

"Happy Birthday, beautiful daughter," Randall said, then looked over at Fitz, "How're you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good, Sir," He told him as Jayne put a maternal hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon, we should get him inside," She said, starting to escort him in, "He shouldn't be up on that leg this long."

"I'm really fine," Fitz smiled as they walked - he limped - into the house, "The birthday girl over there has been stressing out."

"You gave us all a good scare, Fitz," Randall said, and Fitz smiled, he wasn't used to parents like this - it was kinda nice.

"I don't blame her," Jayne retorted, "Who's bright idea was it to take you all the way down to Washington already?"

"That would be my father's," Fitz said as he watched out the window and saw Stephen's car pull into the driveway.

Abby, and Harrison popped out with Stephen as they headed up towards the front door. Randall excused himself from the conversation to go and let them in. As soon as he was gone Jayne tried to usher him right right into one of the kitchen chairs.

"It's ok," He attempted in vain to discourage her, "I need to stretch it anyways - ok."

He was firmly sitting in a kitchen chair when Olivia almost subconsciously pushed a chair under his leg. This was when her mom decided to switch back to birthday mode and pulled her cake out of the fridge. Fitz smiled, taking his leg back down and trying to stretch it as Olivia went to meet their friends.

"Back from the dead," Harrison teased as they walked in, and Fitz chuckled as he shook his hand, "Good to see you, man."

"Thanks, Harrison," He smiled as Abby and Stephen walked in behind him.

Once they were filling the kitchen, Jayne and Randall led the singing, and shoveled out the cake. Olivia opened her gifts - except Fitz's, and they were sent into the living room - away from the kitchen to hang out. Fitz couldn't remember the last time he had been in a home like this - other than the last time that he was with Olivia's family. He adored her family, now that they were so much more accepting of him than they had been in the beginning. He sat comfortably with his arm around Olivia casually as Stephen, Abby, and Harrison excused themselves for the night.

"Finally, I have the birthday girl alone for a while," He teased her, kissing the side of her head.

"You're ridiculous," She said, "I told you we didn't have to come down here."

"Of course we did," He replied as she leaned in and kissed him softly.

"It doesn't matter much though," He said, reaching for his jacket, and pulling an envelope from the inside of his jacket pocket.

"What's this?" She asked apprehensively as he pulled her into his lap, dropping the envelope into her's.

"A birthday present for the love of my life," He said as she picked it up and he kissed her forehead, "You'll be happy to know there's no jewelry involved - yet."

"You spoil me," She replied.

"It's my birthday too," He replied, "In a couple weeks..."

"Yes but it's no fair exchanging presents with you..."

"Would you just open it?"

She went silent, and he pressed his nose against the side of her face, smiling as she opened the envelope.

"No," She said.

"Just read the whole thing."

"Fitz-"

"It's after your finals," He said, kissing her temple, "You and me, a week alone in Aruba. Before you protest too much, we're staying at Stephen's parent's house there which they gave to us for the week. So, really all I had to do was get the plane tickets so far. I fly free, so it was just you. It's partly your birthday present and partly a thank-you."

"For what?" She asked, looking over at him.

"For taking such good care of me," He told her, "That and I figured both use a good break from everything."


	21. Pausing Reality

A/N: Ok, so I hope you all enjoy the chapter! I've been pretty busy the last couple days, sorry I wasn't able to update... also, if any of you are any good at making those shipper music videos pm me please :) thanks! Enjoy.

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-One: Pausing Reality

Olivia was lying on the beach - there was no one around except for Fitz, who was lying beside her. She rolled over and he was just sort of lying there. She curled up to his side, and put her head on his chest carefully as he put his arm around her to hold her there - he didn't even bother opening his eyes. He knew it was her, and she smiled as the sun hit the side of her face. Her hand laid flat on his rippled stomach, and she scooted closer to him. She leaned up and kissed the side of his face, then shot up. He had gone white, and cold. The scars on his chest had burst open, and there was blood all over her. He was clean, he was perfect, his body simply glowing in the sun with a gaping hole in his chest - and it was getting bigger. She watched it just get bigger and bigger until he was simply an outline, screaming.

"Liv, Liv," She heard Fitz, "Ow."

"Wha-?"

"It was just a dream," He told her, rubbing his side, "You were thrashing around and screaming - don't you know that's my job?"

She chuckled a little and nuzzled back into his side.

"Sorry to break it to you, Livy," He said as she looked up at him and he directed her attention to the clock, "

A few days later she was sitting in the backyard of Stephen's parents' Aruban house, Olivia was much more at ease than she had been in a very long time. She was waiting for Fitz to be ready to go to the beach for the day - he had opted to sleep in a little longer and therefore had been getting into the shower as Olivia was finishing getting ready. The night before was the first night that they had been - intimate - with each other since his accident. It had taken much more out of him than he had thought it would, and way more than he was willing to admit.

She still wasn't quite back to normal since what she had overheard from his parents - but she knew now that she was definitely keeping it to herself. It wasn't her information to share - it was his mother's. Also, she had merely overheard it, who knew if that was the whole conversation? She understood that she should have told Fitz when he had asked, multiple times, but what was she supposed to say to him? Oh your dad might be the reason why you almost died, and why you had to attend so many funerals in the last two weeks. She figured it was just for the best that she keep her mouth shut. If his father was powerful enough to influence a mission like that, how easy would it be for him to ruin her and Fitz's relationship? She was not losing him.

"Ready to go?" He smiled at her as he walked out the back door.

"Oh, I've been ready, sleepy head," She smiled, throwing her bag over her shoulder as he offered her his hand on the way to their rental Jeep.

"I think you're going to like today," He said as he started it up.

"Oh?"

"We just have a quick detour to make before we get to the beach," He told her as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Why?"

"It's my birthday, let me just show you? I like surprising you."

"Your birthday isn't until tomorrow," She pointed out, "And I hate surprises."

"Both of these things I know," He told her, leaning over and kissing her softly, "But I just love surprising you."

"Fine," She said, crossing her arms as he took off.

He drove just about the length of the island, all the way to a light house and then kept going. They passed a white chapel, which was beautiful against the red rocks around it. Like just about everywhere else on the island, you could see the ocean off in the distance behind looked over at him for some sort of sign of stopping, but he just kept going. He took a dirt road down the side to go off towards the ocean - it was rocky and at the edge there was a cliff into the ocean. Olivia reached over and took Fitz's hand as he drove parallel to the edge and then stopped.

"Here?" She asked and he nodded.

"C'mon," He smiled, opening the door to the Wrangler.

"What are those?" Olivia asked as she got out and about a thousand or more small rock towers were scattered around them.

"It's a thing that people do here," He said, walking around the hood of the car and wrapping his arms around her, "There's a lot of different legends about them - but my favorite is why we're here. You stack three rocks up on top of each other and make a wish. When the ocean comes up and washes it away, or it falls down for whatever reason, your wish is destined to come true - or something that."

"So why're we out here, Fitz?" She asked, nipping back at the side of his neck.

"I thought we could build one together," He said and she smiled.

"But baby, how is it ever going to get knocked over out here?"

As soon as she said it she spotted a dead crab amongst the rocks, in the desert. She looked over to the edge of the cliff and a small sized wave crashed up over the rocks - knocking over a couple of the ones on the edge.

"Like that," He chuckled as she nodded.

"Clearly," She smiled.

He reached down carefully and picked up a rock, placing it down on the ground as she put another one on top. Then they both looked around for a small one to place on top of it. She found a perfect one, and handed it over to him to be placed on the top of their tower. He placed it very gently on top, and then pulled her in close, kissing her tenderly as another wave crashed up on the edge of the cliff.

"You really know how to make a girl feel special," She chuckled as he slipped his hands down lower on her back.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

"I'm not sure I want to see anything then," She replied and he chuckled, leaning in and kissing her briefly.

"You do," He kissed her again, "Trust me."

"You seem so sure," She said, the edges of her mouth curving upward as he

"Well right now there's a spot on the beach with our names on it," Fitz told her as he reached back and opened up her door again, "Figuratively of course."

"Of course," She chuckled as he kissed her hand and helped her back up into the Jeep.

He drove back down towards the hotel region of the island. They had spent the past couple days at semi-private beaches, where no one ever visited. They had decided that day that they would go to a more touristy beach. Not because they wanted to come out of themselves and socialize, but because they wanted to have fun. The tourist beaches were where they had parasailing, Seado rentals, and other sorts of fun. They had their eyes set on renting a kayak for a couple hours - the rest of it was much too dangerous for Fitz. He still had the rod in his leg, which meant that they had to be careful and he was healed, but not totally. They picked a little shady cabana that was faux naturally there, and set up camp.

"Lunch?" Fitz asked, pulling the picnic lunch she had made them for the beach out of the bag.

"Sure," Olivia said, as he pulled it out and handed her her iced tea, "God, that looks like fun."

"What?" He asked, looking around and spotting what she was watching.

There were quite a few guests from the hotel, mostly American from what he could guess, playing a game of volleyball. They were all very into it, and seemed as if they all knew each other. They seemed a little bit of a rowdy crowd, but that was why it looked like so much fun. He made a mental note to next time coordinate with Stephen and Harrison so that they could go on a group vacation - maybe next spring break. He chuckled, slipping into the chair beside her.

"You know, we could play if you wanted to," He said, and she looked at him as if he had six heads, "Oh c'mon, they wouldn't mind."

"You can't play volleyball," She said, and he rolled his eyes.

"I think I could manage," He replied, and watched her raise her eyebrows as someone dove for the ball, "Ok, maybe not that caliber."

"It's ok, baby," She said, sipping her drink as she stroked down the side of his arm.

"I'll make it up to you tonight," He teased her, taking a bite of his apple as she leaned over and kissed his jaw.

"I love you," She told him, wiping away some of the juice from his lip.

"I love you too," He replied as the Volleyball landed a couple inches in front of Fitz's feet.

"I got it!" Yelled one of the guys who was playing and they both turned to watch him run towards them, "Olive?"

She looked up from where she had been eyeing the small scar on Fitz's leg, and saw him. Matt, she could recognize his crooked smile anywhere - even if it had been years. His casually blonde hair was blowing slightly in the wind, and his eyes were perfect green as they always were. She hadn't seen him since they were tiny, small kids but she couldn't help but notice that he had grown up pretty well. He had been in her class all the way through elementary school, one of her best friends, and for about a week at a time, her boyfriend in middle school. Then, he had gone to a different high school and she had lost touch with him.

"Matt?" She said, shocked as she jumped out of her seat and ran to him - he opened his arms up for a hug.

"What's up, girly?" He asked as he let her go.

"Not much."

"You down here for vacation?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Frat stuff," He said, motioning over towards the Volleyball court - tossing the ball back to them, "So what've you been up to? I was thinking about you the other day. I was going to give your house a call, see if your mom still remembered me."

"How could she forget you?" Olivia said, "You threw my fifth, sixth, and seventh birthday cakes up on the rug."

"You're right, I can't imagine she'd forget that," He said, smiling, "I sort of just stopped eating the cake after that."

"So how did Deerfield treat you?" Olivia asked him.

"Well I'm at Brown now, not too shabby," He told her.

"You?"

"Yale."

"No surprises there," He said, "I'm still kinda mad about you bailing on Deerfield. We were supposed to go together."

"My mom couldn't send me to a private school - she had just been elected," She said and Matt nodded.

"I know, still missed you though," He said, and Olivia smiled, "You want in on the Volleyball game? I can't believe you're here."

"Ah no," Olivia said, looking back over at Fitz, who had managed to get to his feet and was walking over, "I'm here with my boyfriend."

"Oh," He said, and Olivia saw his face drop ever so slightly as Fitz walked up, "Nice to meet you, you're a lucky guy."

"I know," Fitz smiled, it was a little forced, but Olivia chose to ignore it - it was probably his leg, he extended his hand,"Nice to meet you, Matt? Was it?"

"Yeah," Matt said as Olivia subconsciously took Fitz's other hand.

"Matt, this is my boyfriend, Fitz."

"Well, Fitz," Matt said after they had shaken hands, "You're welcome to join in too, if you want."

"I'd love to," Fitz said, and Olivia gave him a look like a deer in the headlights.

"Whoa, Olive," Matt said, "What's with the eyes?"

"He can't," She said, "He's still recovering. And I hated that nickname when you gave it to me in Kindergarten, what makes you think I'll like it now?"

"I didn't," He replied smiling kindly, "C'mon why can't he play? He looks sturdy - we won't hurt him, promise."

"That's what you said about my doll in second grade when you tossed him over the fence."

"Warning, this one holds a grudge," Matt told Fitz, who nodded.

"We were just going to catch a Kayak actually," Olivia told him, wrapping her arm around Fitz's.

"Oh," Matt chuckled, "Don't let me get in your way then... we should catch up later. What're you two doing tonight?"

"Nothing really," Olivia looked up at Fitz, "Right, babe?"

"I guess not," Fitz replied.

"You should totally meet up with us," Matt said, "Otherwise I'm going to have to stalk you two to hang out another day."

"Tonight sounds fine," Olivia told him, and he smiled.

"Good. We're hanging out at the Pelican's nest around eight," He said, "Enjoy your kayaking."

Olivia led Fitz down the beach towards the edge where there was a man standing with a couple kayaks. She could sense that something was up with him, and she turned to look at him a few feet up the beach. Matt had rejoined the volleyball game and everything was going back to normal, except Fitz who had been in a very good mood previously, looked grumpy.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

"Nothing," He said, "I just don't think I've ever heard you mention Matt before."

"He was a friend of mine until high school, when he-"

"Went to boarding school, I got that much," He replied.

"What do you not want to hang out with them tonight?"

"With a whole Frat? No, not particularly."

"Ok," Olivia said, not quite understanding why he was like that, "When we get back, I'll tell him our plans changed. It's just that he's a friend that I haven't seen in five years..."

"It's fine," He said, leaning in and kissing the side of her head, "We can hang out with him tonight."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," He said, taking her hand as they finished the walk to the man with the kayaks.

It turned out that the bar they were going to was in fact, a pier. It was covered with a roof similar to the little huts on the beach. It seemed like during the day and part of the night it was a restaurant, but at nighttime it converted into a bar. Fitz was holding on tightly to her hand as they walked in. They looked around until Olivia finally spotted Matt sitting at the bar, and they headed over. Olivia was leading Fitz through the crowd until they got to the bar, and she hopped up on a stool next to Matt as Fitz sat on her other side.

"Hey, you made it!" Matt said happily as he waved to the bartender, who put a Corona down in front of each of them.

"Thanks," Olivia said as she took a sip.

"No problem," Matt said as Fitz nodded, "How much longer are you two here?"

"A couple days," Fitz told him, downing his Corona in two or three swigs - causing Olivia to give him a look, "Where's the bathroom?"

"Over there," Matt said, pointing over to the corner and Fitz took off, "You've got a real charmer there."

"Leave him alone," Olivia said, "He just went off his pain killers before we got here."

"You said he was recovering, from what?" Matt asked, turning his seat so that he was facing her.

"He's..."

"Oh, shit," Matt said, taking a sip of his beer, "He's that dude, isn't he? The one that just got all those honors - he was on TV for weeks."

"Yeah," Olivia said, drinking a little bit more of her beer.

"I'm impressed though," He said, "He's managed to keep you for how long?"

"A year and about three months," She said, and he nodded.

"Damn it, why didn't I forget about Deerfield when you weren't going," Matt said.

"Because you hated everything about our little town."

"Everything but you," He replied, and Olivia felt a tiny bit uncomfortable with the way that he was looking at her, "Can you imagine what would have happened if we went to high school together? Prom?"

"I didn't go to Prom."

Luckily, this was just about the time that Fitz returned from the bathroom - wrapping his arms tightly around her from behind. He pulled her out to where people were dancing, and away from Matt with confidence. She now understood what Fitz's problem had been, and allowed herself to be whisked away onto the dance floor. While he was always attractive, somehow Fitz was just a little bit sexier when he was jealous. She could see his eyes flaring up a little bit as he looked over her shoulder at Matt - who was apparently watching them. She was a little annoyed though, he shouldn't be worried about people like Matt.

"Fitz," Olivia said, taking hold of his face and angling it down at her, "Look at me, not him."

"He's doing enough looking for the both of us," Fitz replied, kissing her forehead, but not obeying.

"Fitz, c'mon, seriously?"

"What?" He asked, looking down at her, "You want to go?"

"No, I don't want to go," She told him, as he took hold of her hips.

"Good I want to make sure he knows who you belong to," Fitz replied, taking a shot off a passing tray.

"Fitz, what the hell has gotten into you?" Olivia asked him.

"Why'd you bring me here, Liv?" He asked her, and she gave him a confused look, "So I can watch some random ass guy drool all over you?"

"Hey, Fitz, he's my friend..."

"He's not acting like one..."

"Is everything ok?" Matt asked as he appeared next to them.

"Yeah," Olivia said, taking Fitz's hand, "We were just about to go though."

"Don't go," Matt whined and the hair stood up on the back of Olivia's neck as Fitz let go of her hand.

"Here, why don't I just go so you two can catch up better," Fitz said and Olivia grabbed his hand.

"Wow Liv, the guys told me you went for assholes now - what with Davis - but this guy's a trip-"

Matt barely got the words out of his mouth before Fitz's fist made contact with the side of his jaw. Matt went to punch back, and Fitz dodged it before throwing one that hit him square in the side of the head, and he was down. There was blood on his lip, and anger in his eyes as he went to get up, but Fitz kicked him back down - his foot against Mike's shoulder. It all happened before Olivia could even bat an eyelash, and then Fitz was leading her out of the bar. They got to the beach and he picked her up, gently to carry her towards the the parking lot.

"Put me down," She said, and he paid no attention, "Put. Me. Down."


	22. A Birthday

A/N: So, it's time for Fitz's birthday, I guess... poor guy... enjoy the chapter, guys!

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Birthday

Fitz had sobered up a little bit on the drive home enough to be a little ashamed of himself. He had acted rashly, and exactly how the old Fitz would have in the given situation. If old Fitz was with Olivia and some guy was hitting on her - he would have decked him, like he had just done. Olivia's Fitz wouldn't do that - and he felt like an asshole the whole ride home. He looked over to see Olivia had hidden herself away in the opposing corner of the Jeep, and had stayed silent the entire time. Once they got to the house, they were still silent. He wasn't sure how to break the silence, so he waited for her to get out of the car then led her up towards the house - opening the door and holding it open for her while she came up behind him.

"I'll take the couch," Olivia said pointedly as he walked in behind her, shutting the door.

"You're not taking the couch," He said as she sat down on it rather firmly.

"Well I'm not letting you take the couch," She said, "You're still recovering, it might screw something up."

"Neither of us are taking the couch, Liv," He said as he sat down beside her.

"Well I'm not sleeping with you - in either sense of the phrase," She said pointedly, and he sighed heavily, "What you think you can club the nearest Neanderthal and then drag me back to your cave – "

"He was all over you," Fitz tried to defend himself, "I shouldn't have hit him – we should have just left – or not gone at all."

"I'm sorry if I thought that my super mature every other day of the week boyfriend could handle me hanging out with a guy friend," Olivia said angrily, "And yes, I did notice a little late that said guy friend was being a jerk – but never did I expect you to sink to his level."

"I'm sorry about that – I don't know what came over me, Livy," He said, "I love you, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you. I wasn't thinking…"

"I thought you were being macho, when you said you would in the hospital," Olivia said, "I didn't think you would ever actually do it."

"Neither did I," He told her sadly, shifting over closer to her, putting his arms around her – she stiffened, but didn't protest – he kissed the side of her head, "I'm so sorry, Livy."

"You made him right when he called you an asshole," Olivia told him, "You made it look to everyone in that bar that I was some stupid girl that was there with some asshole. Not that great guy that apparently only I know you are. It was embarrassing."

"I'm sorry."

"Your hand's bleeding," She said.

He looked down just in time to notice a little bit of blood dripping from his knuckles on his left hand. Her hands took it gently as she ducked out of his arms and stood up. She led him over into the kitchen by the hand and dampened a cloth to put it over his hand. She dabbed away the blood, and then took a look at the sources of the bleeding. She leaned down and kissed his hand softly, then looked back up at him.

"Don't move, ok?" She warned him, and he simply leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I'll take that as a yes."

She disappeared into the next room as Fitz let his hand fall back to the counter. She came back with the First Aid Kit from the hall closet and popped it open as Fitz set his uninjured hand on the small of her back. She swept it away with her hand as she took out some bandages and wrapped his hand up. She finished wrapping him up and threw away the stuff that she didn't use. She closed up the First Aid Kit, and returned it to the hall closet while he just waited.

"I'm sorry, Liv," He called after her as she came back into the room – and went straight to the fridge.

"You're drunk," Olivia told him, handing him a glass of water.

"I'm not that drunk," He said, as he took a sip, not anymore at least.

"You can apologize to me in the morning," She said as he drained the glass, put it down in the sink.

She led him into the bedroom and helped him change. Between the slight inebriation and the pain that was emanating from his leg, he was more than thankful for the help. She threw his clothes into the hamper and got his face with a cool cloth. She helped him over to the bed and made sure that his head hit the pillow. She put a glass of water on his nightstand and kissed his forehead. She sat on the edge of the bed as he got settled in, then stood up – poised to shut off the light.

"Livy, where are you going?" He asked as she went and sat on the side of his bed again.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch."

"Aw, please don't, Livy," He said, making a face, "I love so much, please don't – stay in here, with me."

She reached down and stroked the side of his face, and he let his eyes flutter closed. His eyes opening again only once she pulled her hand back up, to wipe his hair out of his face.

"I love you, Fitz," She told him, "But I told you, I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight. I'll see you in the morning."

She got up and walked out of the room – shutting the light out as she did, and closing the door behind her. He laid there in the dark, unwilling and not feeling the need to get up and do anything else. He looked up at the ceiling, and knew exactly what was coming. He closed his eyes – like he would be able to fall asleep before it really hit, but knew it was useless. The fan that was going above him started to sound like a motor. Ben started to scream.

_"We're going down, we're going down!" _He was screaming.

_"Abort! Abort!" _He could hear Terrance screaming over the whipping of his plane as it spun towards the ground.

_"Ahhhhh God!" _It was James next, forever in pain_, "Ahhh God! I've been hit – I'm losing blood…" _

_"Everyone keep your eyes on the skylin-" _Patrick barely got the beginning of his sentence out before Fitz's radio feed to him had been cut off by his plane exploding in mid-air.

The falling screams and last words of his team echoed in his head as they had the past week before Olivia had been done with school. He heard them dying, over and over again on a loop in his head. It didn't happen until he was sleeping when Olivia was sleeping beside him. He figured that her being there, in the present, usually wrapped around him, was enough of an anchor so that he knew it wasn't actually happening then. When she was beside him it didn't start until he was actually asleep. He took a deep breath, and screwed his eyes shut - just trying to get to sleep. The dreams were easier to take than hearing them like that.

He stumbled into the kitchen the next morning with his water glass in his hand, not having bothered to shower or change yet. His head felt like it was on fire, and no matter how much water he drank it wasn't going to put it out. He put the water glass down on the counter, and Olivia came up and handed him a couple aspirin. He downed those with the rest of his water, as he noticed that Olivia had set the table for breakfast. She had also already showered and gotten dressed for the day. His breakfast favorites were already lined out on the table – God, she was amazing.

"Will you accept my apology now?" He asked, wincing from the lights, and she lowered them.

"Absolutely," She said, going over and slipping her hand over his forehead.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He said as he looked around the room – his vision a little clearer now as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Happy Birthday, baby," She said, going up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, "There's coffee on the table – and I know French Toast is your favorite – but try and eat extra bacon and eggs, ok? I don't want you to be hung over for your whole birthday."

"So we're doing multiple remedies?" He asked as he sat down at the table, she nodded, "Listen about last night, that was—"

"Hush," She said, taking her seat across from him, "We're not talking about it, consider it part of my birthday gift to you. It happened, you're sorry – that's the end. I trust it won't ever happen again, and that's that."

"Your birthday present is to not make me grovel?" He smirked a little as he shoveled half a fried egg into his mouth.

"Part of it. And last night was partly my fault anyways," She said, "And I know that that's not you – so as long as it doesn't happen again—"

"It won't, I promise," He told her, taking her hand across the table – then noticed the bandages on his hand, and withdrew.

"It's ok," She said, taking his hand as he sipped his coffee.

"Thank you, for doing all this," He said, picking stabbing a piece of banana with his fork, "I don't deserve any of it, not with the way I've treated you, not after last night."

"Fitz, I told you," She said as she swallowed a piece of French Toast for herself, "We're not talking about last night – So what're you talking about? You are an amazing guy, and even if you weren't I love you, so I would do this for you anyways. But you are, Fitz – you're nearly perfect. You treat me like a – I don't even know what, but you treat me incredibly well, Babe. And you love me."

"I do love you, more than anything."

"Well I don't want to talk about it," She said, "I want to forget about it, and go back to having my stunning, devoted boyfriend back. You remember, the one who fed me grapes on the beach a couple days ago?"

"I do," He smiled and she grinned as she motioned with a single finger for him to come closer.

"You have a little syrup on your lip," She told him once they were almost nose to nose, and then kissed it off of him – sending chills all down his back, "What do you want to do today?"

"Go back to bed."

"It's your twenty-fourth birthday, you're in Aruba with me, and you want to go back to bed?"

"I'm anywhere with you and I want to go to bed," He cracked and they chuckled, "Besides, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I'm sorry, baby, nightmare?"

"Something like that," He said, unwrapping his hand, "What do you want to do?"

"Well if your headache goes away, we could go to Baby Beach," She said, "Go snorkeling, then dinner?"

"That sounds fine," He replied, finishing his breakfast, "I should be ok by the time we're ready to go."

Within the hour his sunglasses were blocking out ninety-percent of the sun and he was carrying a cooler over to where Olivia was setting up camp. She stripped down to her bikini almost as soon as her feet touched the sand, and he was glad he was wearing the shades, because his eyes wouldn't stop going up and down. He set the cooler over by one of the chairs in the shadiest portion he could find and took his sunglasses off only momentarily to take his shirt off.

"Babe, can you get my back?" She asked as suddenly she was standing in front of him – handing him the bottle of sun screen over her shoulder.

"Mmm," He said, leaning up and kissing the side of her neck sweetly, "I can get everything if you want."

She giggled, and his heart went a little faster.

"Just the back for now, birthday boy," She said, as he started to rub the stuff down her back, "Save the rest for tonight –"

"Ok," He said as he finished up with her back and she turned around, wrapping her arms up around his neck.

"Wanna go for a swim, see the fishes?" She smiled and he grinned as he leaned down and kissed her.

"Did you just say 'fishes'?" He teased her.

"Shut up," She said and he smiled as he peaked over her shoulder.

"Crap," He said, "Small island."

She looked over to where he was looking and caught on pretty quickly. Matt and his buddies had apparently thought that going for a snorkel was a good idea too. She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Don't pay attention to them," She said, then swallowed, "I should go try and smooth things over – why don't you get our stuff out?"

"Sure," He said, and she took off.

He decided it would be best just not to watch or pay one speck of attention to what was going on down the beach as he went through their bag and pulled out their stuff. It wasn't as if he really had any right to, Olivia loved him, he trusted that. He knew that in his soul, and it didn't matter what this Matt kid or anyone else really said about it at all. He loved her, and he would never do anything like he had the night before again. She deserved better than that, even as he was driving home he knew that she deserved someone better than him. It was a miracle that she was being so kind about it, too – making him even more unworthy.

"All set?" She asked as she returned to their blanket, he had most of the stuff laid out.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"Matt agreed that it was just a bad night – he had had one too many as well," Olivia said, "He apologized to me, and offered for us to join them – I politely declined."

"Thank you," Fitz said as they both sat to put on their fins.

"Oh, before we go in," Olivia said, reaching around herself and pulling out a neatly wrapped package from in her bag.

"What's this?" He asked as she handed it over to him.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?" She told him and he smiled as he opened it.

He tore off the paper and threw it into the small trash bag they had brought with them. He was then looking at a small watch box, and smiled a little to himself as he opened it up. Inside was a silver watch with a classy looking chronograph face. There was a little, barely recognizable Navy emblem on the side near the knob to set it. He smiled as he took it out of the box, and she took his wrist and turned it over. That was where there was an engraving:

'Fitz With Love as Always From Livy June 2nd 1990'.

He chuckled.

"Ok, Marilyn," He chuckled as he leaned over and kissed her softly, "But I can't wear this in the water."

"You can," She said, leaning over and kissing the side of his head, "It's water proof."

"You do think of everything, don't you?" He said as she reached over and started fastening it to his wrist.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."

"I felt stupid getting you something so generic, so I figured if I put a joke spin on it…"

"Livy, I love it," He said, as he got up and lent his hand down to her, "And I love you. Ready for some swimming?"

They spent the day in the water, letting the cool water ease Fitz's head, and simply cool them down from the heat. He floated on his back as she dove down to get a better look at a piece of coral within a few minutes she came back up and was holding onto him in the water. He grinned as she pulled him down with her. They played in the water together for a while. They ate lunch on the beach, and then packed up and headed back to the house. They hung around by the pool, and Olivia made herself a margarita, while Fitz politely replied that he'd rather not have one. She snuggled up with him in a lounge chair and he smiled.

"This wouldn't be such a bad life, would it?" He commented as he ran his fingers through her hair, "Why do we have to go to law school? Why do we have to do anything but lay around, go to the beach, and make love?"

"Because more than a week of this would drive us both insane," She replied, and he nodded.

"Fair point."

"Have you heard about law school yet?" She asked.

"Harvard it is," He said a little sadly, "I wanted Yale, so we could be together - but it turns out they're sticklers for due dates. Even if my excuse was that I was lying in a hospital bed. But Harvard's closer to the hill, and we'll have all the same dates and holidays..."

"But you're still going to be in Boston," She replied, a little sadly.

"It's a two hour drive," He shrugged, "I saw you almost every time I was on leave when I was in Maine. It'll be like we're both going to the same school, promise."

"Ok," She said, and he smiled.

"Besides," He said, kissing the top of her head, "I'll have a chance to get to know Harrison a bit better."

"I'm sure Harrison'll love that," Olivia said and he smirked - enjoying the expression on her face.

"So what's dinner?"

"I made us lobsters," She said, "They've been cooking all the time we've been out here."

"Fantastic," He smiled as she got up, reaching down and helping him up.

"Oh wait," She said, reaching back into her bag of tricks, and pulling out a very small 'Victoria's Secret' bag.

"What's this?" He asked as she handed it over to him, "You're spoiling me."

"You bet I am."


	23. Smoke

A/N: For those of you who haven't checked it out, and/or are wondering why I'm updating less frequently on this it's because I've started a new story too, and therefore am cycling through them the newest one's called "Finding A Way" and you guys should go find it if you haven't already :) If you haven't noticed I've been skating over the less important things (Like school and such) because they are simply boring, and with a plotline like this one (That stretches years... a decade, actually) those things just aren't that important - or at least you guys really don't want to read about them...the chapters may start to cover months/years at a time... slowing and focusing on OLITZ Enjoy :) Also - if anyone has any requests from the last episode for the oneshot series I do, pm me...

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Three: Smoke

Olivia was about as far as she could be from where she had woken up the morning after Fitz's birthday. They had woken up with the sun shining through the window and their bodies entangled so thoroughly that she had honestly not even cared - about anything. As she was lying in bed in the precious moments between the time she hit snooze and her alarm clock went off, she laid there - missing him. He was working, and going to school at Harvard and she was going to school and working in the library at Yale. He called every night, and they saw each other as much as they could manage - but she still ended up missing him, a lot. She tried to compare it to when he was off with Navy - but she couldn't. He wasn't there anymore.

"Your alarm's going to go off again in a minute," Abby observed - she was already up and sitting at her desk working on some of her homework.

"It's cold outside," Olivia said, turning over and looking out the window - seeing the three feet of snow on the ground, "Maybe I'll just skip class today."

"Miss Pope, get to class!" Abby said in her best Mr. Beene impersonation, leaning over and shutting the alarm off before it went off.

"Cyrus would never yell at me like that," Olivia said, as he sat up on the edge of her bed.

"I'm all too aware," She said, without looking up from her paper, "Who do you think combated most of rumors that he wasn't really gay and that he was in love with you?"

"Did I tell you Fitz has him this semester?" Olivia said, and Abby nodded.

"You did, a few times," She replied as Olivia got up and gathered her things for her shower.

The rest of the week passed much the same way. She had learned to absolutely abhor her week, and just pray that she made it til the weekend. It was unhealthy, it was pathetic, it was awful, but it was how she felt. All she could think about was the fact that he was there, and she was at Yale. As she sat in her philosophy class, bored out of her mind, all she could think about was the fact the Mellie was up there with him, and she was not. She felt bad about it, she felt ashamed. She trusted Fitz, she did. After all he had gone through so that they could be together, she doubted that he would ever go back. She believed him when he said that he loved her, when he said that she was the only one for him. But it was still in the back of her mind just about everyday - how could it not be?

She got to Harvard a little earlier than usual that Thursday, partly out of need to see Fitz - and partly because of his last class of the day. She did a little research, and with a little help from Harrison she had managed to devise a plan. She had skipped out on her last class of the day, an easy one that didn't really matter all that much, and headed up to Harvard to give two of her favorite men a little surprise. She parked outside of Fitz's apartment, then walked over and onto campus. They were going to have dinner with Harrison and his new girlfriend - Olivia couldn't wait to meet her, but she had one order of business to handle before she headed over to his dorm to see him.

"Well done, Mr. Grant," She heard Cyrus say as the class started to file out of the class room.

"Thank you, Sir," Fitz replied, and Olivia smiled, pausing outside the door.

"You just might be my second favorite student that I've ever taught."

"A title I don't mind at all," She peaked into the room and saw him smiling, standing in front of Cyrus's desk.

"And who would be your favorite?" Olivia asked, stepping into the room - as if she didn't know.

"Olivia," Cyrus smiled, and she crossed the room right over to him and gave him a hug, "That's a stupid question for you to ask."

"I was just checking," She said, as she moved on to Fitz, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek, "Hey, babe."

"Hey, Livy, you're early," He said, looking down at his watch, "You skipped class."

"Eh, not really a problem," She replied, as he wrapped his arm around her, "We just had a test last time, and I wanted to see Cyrus."

"Here I am, and very happy to see you," He said, happily, then his face dropped, "Unless you're thinking of transferring..."

"I was thinking about it," She said and Fitz raised his eyebrows.

"You love Yale," He commented, and she shrugged.

"It's just crossed my mind, Fitz," She said and he seemed to make a bit of a face.

"Well I have a department meeting that I have to get to," Cyrus told them, "I'm sure you two can find your way out?"

Fitz fixed his bag over his shoulders as they walked out into the hallway and he reached for Olivia's hand. Instead, she just about attached herself to his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I missed you," She told him, and he smiled - chuckling a little bit as they walked outside.

"I missed you too," He replied, leaning over and kissing the top of her head gingerly.

"You're so sweet to me," Olivia smiled as they crossed the street - heading back to his apartment.

"I love you, Livy," He replied simply as he let her lead him by the hand into one of the stores, "What're we doing in here?"

"You never have anything good to eat at your apartment," She replied, and he rolled his eyes, "At least not when I show up early."

"That's because I stop and get your favorites on the way home," He replied, "I usually just eat takeout or on campus."

"Exactly why we're here," Olivia replied, looking through the vegetables.

"We're going out to dinner," He commented, and she nodded.

"I know, just a few things, Fitz," She said, turning and looking at him - he stole one, incredibly gentle kiss.

"If you don't distract me, it won't take very long," She told him, backing up, pulling him along with her.

"But I like distracting you," He replied flirtatiously as she backed into something.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," She whipped around, embarrassed.

Then she blushed even more being face to face with Mellie - who looked way less than pleased. She smirked at the terrified look on Olivia's face She opened her mouth -cocking her head to the side ever so slightly, ready to make a snarky comment. Before she got the chance, Fitz snaked his arms around her and pulled her away from the situation. He kissed the top of her head and whisked her away, to the popcorn isle.

"I believe this is where you were heading, Livy?" He asked, grabbing a box of her favorite kind.

"That was awkward," She commented, as he handed her the box.

"Not really," He replied, "Should I make a trip over and grab a bottle of wine?"

"Go for it," She said, allowing him to lead her back towards the back fridges, "Fitz-"

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"No, Liv, tell me."

"How often do you run into her?"

"Ah, Livy-" He said, "I don't ever see her - I maybe see her on the other side of the road or in the next classroom over once a month."

"Why do I still feel like the other woman, Fitz?"

"Livy," He paused - she felt bad for doing this in front of the wine fridge at the grocery store - but she also felt bad for bringing it up at all.

"I'm sorry."

"No," He said, taking a deep breath, "I didn't realize that you thought that way - Livy. I love you, ok? You shouldn't have to be working hard to be convinced that you're the only one that I will ever want, ok? That's my fault. I should have dropped her the minute that I met you - but, Livy. I promise you, you're more than I could ever deserve, why would I screw it all up? I love you. I love you. I love you. And I never want you to think of yourself as that."

"I will try harder to be more understanding of that," She said, and he smiled as he grabbed a bottle of her favorite.

"That's all I ask," He replied, as he walked her to the front of the store.

Later that night, they left the apartment only because they had promised Harrison. They got into Fitz's car as they headed over to meet Harrison and his girldfriend - Katherine - at the restaurant. Despite their cuddling and semi make-out session at the apartment before they left, Olivia could tell that Fitz was still pretty put off about their conversation in the grocery store. She looked over at him as he drove, one hand on the wheel, the other wrapped firmly around her's. She brought their hands into her lap, and covered his with her over hand - or at least attempted to. She watched him smirk and she felt a little bit better. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"What, you're going to gip me?" He smirked as he turned his face, and she kissed him properly.

"Sorry, you're driving," She said and he laughed.

"I can multitask," He assured her, and she nodded.

"Sure you can," She commented back as he pulled into the parked just barely on the edge of Harvard's campus - so they could make the short trip across the street to the restaurant.

"I can," He said firmly as he leaned in and kissed her softly.

"We should get in there before Harrison kills us both," She said, and he pouted, leaning in for another kiss.

"Or we could just bail," He replied, and Olivia chuckled.

"No, babe, let's go," She said, pulling him into the restaurant with her.

They stood there, meeting Katherine, and all Olivia could do was think about how much she just wanted to be alone with Fitz. They had never planned anything for the first night that they were together for weekends - and it clearly wasn't a good plan. He couldn't keep his hands off of her for the majority of the meal - his hand was either up on her shoulder or hiding down below, very subtly massaging the edge of her thigh.

"That was, torture," Fitz chuckled as they dropped their coats and he plopped down on the couch.

"Never again," She replied as she fell right into his arms.

"I'm exhausted," He said, "Mind if we go to bed early tonight?"

"Sure," She replied, and he nodded as she let her head fall over onto his shoulder.

"Oh, I haven't checked my mail yet," He said, throwing his head back, "Ow."

"Careful," Olivia said as she rubbed the back of his head softly.

"I'm fine," He told her naturally as he hopped up off the couch, "I'll just go grab it - you can go wait for me?"

"Wait for you?"

"Preferably in my bed," He smirked as he leaned down and kissed her before leaving the room.

She smiled as he headed for the front door, and she went back into his room. She looked through his drawers and grabbed one of his Navy T-shirts, throwing her own clothes into a pile by her bag as she crawled into bed. She snuggled up to his pillow - loving nothing more than the fact that his scent was surrounding her. She loved it - every single second of it. She smiled a little to herself as she rolled over onto his side. She laid there, looking towards the door for a little while. Then, finally after a pretty long delay, he walked in. She could tell right off the bat that there was something up, and she furrowed her eye brows. She watched him strip down to his boxers, and moved over so that he could crawl into bed with her.

"What's up?" She asked him, snuggling up to his side - but he wasn't reacting much to it.

"Nothing," He told her, leaning in and kissing her softly, "I'm just really tired, Livy. Mind if we just go to sleep?"

"Of course not," She replied - not really sure what else she could say as he flicked out the light.

"Thanks, Liv," He replied as he turned on his side so that he could hold her better, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" Olivia asked him, kissing his chest as he held her as close to him as possible.

"I'm sure, I'm fine," He replied, leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

She closed her eyes, and with Fitz's arms around her she fell asleep almost instantly. She was out like a light, perfectly happy and content in his arms as he simply held her there. She always had this great feeling that she was above all else, treasured when she was with him. She loved him, but he loved her so much that - at least while she was in his arms - she felt like nothing could get between them. It was a little strange, because she was so good at convincing herself otherwise once they had been away from each other a week. She was starting to feel even worse about the situation in the grocery store and decided that she would never, even if it was killing her, ask him about his relationship with Mellie again. He was done with it - like she was done with Edison. She hadn't talked to him in almost a year, and was planning on keeping it that way.

Suddenly, she was ripped from her dreams as she heard Fitz screaming out of his nightmare. She awoke with a fright, and sat up next to him - he was thrashing in his sleep. She was a little surprised, he hadn't had a nightmare - at least one this bad - for months, almost six. She stroked the side of his hair, and spoke to him softly.

"Fitz... Fitz..."

"Argh! Wha- what?"

"It's ok, Fitz," She told him, wrapping her arms around him as best she could, "You're safe - you're ok."

"Thanks," He choked, sitting up and reaching for his glass of water.

"I thought your nightmares had faded," She commented, and he shrugged.

"They have - I must have gotten triggered by something today."

"Like the something you were refusing to tell me about when we fell asleep?"

"It's nothing," He told her, leaning over and kissing her head, "Don't worry about it."


	24. Busy

A/N: I need to de-stress myself out, so sorry it's been so long :( I hope you all enjoy the chapter :)

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Four: Busy

Fitz's head was spinning, it had been spinning since he had gotten the letter in the mail. He kept quiet, because that was what was expected of him. He didn't know who sent him the letter, but he didn't at all question it's validity. He didn't at all put it past his father to do something so horrible. The small thought that he would arise the hero, like he had, would have pushed his father to do anything. Even, it seemed, endanger his life. Was that what his mother had meant that day in the hospital when he had overheard her yelling in the waiting room?

"_The way I see it you and your 'big plan' nearly killed our son" _he could hear the words in his head. They were almost as clear as the voices of Ben, Jay, and all the other voices he heard screaming to their deaths when he laid down at night. She had known – or rather had found out – it made sense now why she hadn't been told he was in Texas. Was that why she had suddenly become so accepting of Olivia? She felt bad, bad that she had gone along with everything his father had said since he was a child? It made sense – but what would ever change his father's mind? How was he so quick to give up?

These were the kinds of questions that had been circulating in his head for months as he worked his ass off on Beacon Hill. It was summertime, so he was free to work a normal schedule, and Olivia was working as a secretary in the city – at a law firm, just to get her foot somewhere near the door. She was living at home, and occasionally spending the night at the apartment with him, while they waited to see if Yale would be allowing him to transfer in. He was trying to do everything he could to reverse any thoughts in her head that she was somehow the other woman – but it was hard trying to do that and work all the time. So, his life became work, and worshipping the ground that she walked on. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't exhausting, but he couldn't think of a single other way he'd prefer to spend his summer.

"In to work again today, Grant?" His boss, Senator Lighten said as he walked into the office on Friday morning.

"Good morning, Sir," Fitz said as he set his briefcase down and sat down at his desk – across the hall from where Lighten's office was.

"You do know it's Friday, most of the assistants take Fridays off," He replied and Fitz nodded.

"Figured I'd pick up some extra hours, Sir," Fitz said politely, "I'm hoping to Transfer to Yale in the fall, I won't be able to work here during the school year."

"That sure is a shame," He replied with a slight frown.

"What're you going to do when you're down there?" He asked and Fitz shrugged.

"Try fit in, I guess," He replied and Lighten laughed.

"You know, I went to School with Governor Milton," He said as he took a deep breath, "I'll give him a call today, see if he wouldn't mind taking you on. I mean, you're a whole lot of trouble, but you're going places. I'm sure you'd be a great addition to his team while you're down there."

"Really, sir?" Fitz asked, and Lighten nodded, "Thank-you."

"You've more than earned it," He told him, and dropped a file on his desk, "Can you make sure a copy of this gets to Gil by noon? You can put the original back on my desk when you're done."

"Of course, Sir," Fitz replied, standing up and taking the file over to the copier.

Later he was sitting at his desk, he had just finished up his work for the day – but the office was still open for another few minutes. He figured that he would simply wait out the timer, in case anyone needed anything, then head out with everyone else. He was fighting himself, wanting to call Olivia up and ask her to spend the night. He always managed to sleep better when she was there, but he figured that he better not. He was still trying to keep a good face with her parents, and while they loved him now, they probably wouldn't much longer if they didn't keep sleepovers to a minimum of a couple times a week. Even then with really good excuses. He was taking her to see her favorite band the next day, so that was an excuse – they would get home far too late.

He was about to stand up and pack up when his phone rang. I looked over at the clock, realizing that it had just hit closing time, and then back at the phone. No one from work would be calling him this late in the day – it was a rarity that his phone rang to begin with. He took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" He questioned the validity of the phone call – maybe it was a prank?

"Fitz," He heard his father's booming voice on the line and sighed heavily, "Why haven't you been answering my phone calls?"

"You know why I'm not answering your phone calls, Dad."

"You're working hard, from what I hear," He replied and Fitz rolled his eyes yet again.

"Yes, that's it," He said, with just enough sarcasm that his father didn't catch on – or at least pretended he didn't.

"Anyways, I'm calling to tell you that there's going to be a spot open in the House come election time," He said, "I want you to run."

"I told you, I'm not running for anything yet," He replied, "Besides I'm still in school."

"You can get school done whenever, Fitz," He said, "You could win this seat in a walk – and then you can bide your time before you can run for governor."

"Of which state?"

"It doesn't matter," His father said, "You're considered a resident of both."

"I'm tired, dad," He said, "And I'm tired of telling you this – I'm not ready to run just yet."

"You've got to get your name back in the news, boy," His father said and Fitz drummed on his desk as Olivia walked into view.

"No, dad," He said, almost yelling now, "I'm not running for anything – I'm finishing school – then I'll run for something. I have to go."

"Your dad?" Olivia asked cautiously as she made it over to his desk, and he nodded.

"He wants me in the House," He replied, "No calls for anything, not even my birthday, but he wants me to run."

"Do you want to run?" She asked and he shook his head, "Ok then."

"What're we doing this afternoon?" He asked as he put his arm around her and grabbed his briefcase.

"It's sort of a surprise," She told him, "But you have to promise not to hate me."

"I could never hate you, Livy," He replied adoringly as they stepped outside into the sun, "But do we have time to go change – this suit's going to suffocate me."

"Of course we do," She replied as they walked down the street towards the apartment, and he kissed the side of her head.

"What was that for?" She asked with a smile, and he shrugged as they walked.

"Because I love you," He replied simply and she smiled.

"Hold onto that then," She said as they got to the door of the apartment.

They both changed into shorts and t-shirts. Though, Olivia was carrying a sweater, so Fitz went and grabbed a light coat from his closet. He wasn't sure what exactly it was that they were doing that night – it had been her turn to plan that. It was a new thing they had started doing, because he wanted her to feel like she was in charge of him. He wasn't sure why he thought that would help with her ideas that she was somehow inferior, but he was willing to do just about anything to see if she would feel better. She hadn't said anything since she had said something in January, but the words still echoed in his head. He felt awful about it.

"Ready to go?" She asked as he came back out.

"Sure," He replied and she smiled cautiously, "What's the matter?"

"I'm worried about you, you know," She said as they walked outside to her car, and he chuckled.

"Why?"

"You're working yourself into the ground and you're not getting enough sleep…"

"I'm fine," He replied, "I'm just busy, I'm fine."

"I'm just glad Stephen and Abby are coming to the concert tomorrow," She said, "I feel like I haven't seen them in a week."

"We saw them Tuesday," Fitz replied as he climbed into her passenger's seat.

"Right," She said as she climbed into the driver's seat, "Seriously though, you don't get to hate me."

"Why would I hate you? What've you possibly planned for us tonight that would make me hate you?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I can't tell you that, but you have to promise."

"Fine, Livy, I promise."

"Ok," She said, and she backed up out of her parking space.

"You're pretty," He said playfully as he reached over and grabbed her hand, leaning back in his seat.

"So glad that you think so," She smiled he let his eyes close, "Don't worry, I'll wake you up when we get there."

"Ok," He replied.

He still hadn't been sleeping well. No matter how much he could convince his awakened conscious that it wasn't his fault that everyone had died. He hadn't given the orders, his father had, in his own convoluted way. Sure he got to be as good as he was without his father, but he should have seen something like that coming. Not as many people had to die – who knew, if the fleet was smaller maybe they wouldn't have been spotted as easily. He knew that ultimately that it wasn't his fault – but he carried the guilt. It was his fault for being there, or sometimes that was how it felt to him.

He kept his eyes shut the whole car ride, feeling the sun run over his face as the trees passed on the highway. He felt Olivia's thumb playing with the back of his hand, and smirked just a little bit. He got in a little nap on the way to wherever the hell they were going. He kept it to a shallow rest though, mostly because he didn't trust Olivia to wake him up right when they got there. She seemed concerned that he wasn't getting enough sleep on the regular basis, so whenever he closed his eyes she sort of skirted away and left him be.

"We're here," She said a little nervously as the car stopped, and he sat up.

"What're we doing here?" He asked, as he looked out the windshield at a small airfield – a small plain waiting just in front of the car – a man standing beside it.

"I want you to take me up," She said and he just looked at her – dumbfounded.

"Seriously?"

"Fitz – your nightmares are only getting worse," She said, "I thought if you got up in the air a little bit, you might feel at least a little bit better."

"You think?" He asked, and she nodded.

"You don't have to if you don't want to – we can just go."

"No," He said, taking a deep breath, and took a pause.

"So what do you say?" She asked, "Take me up?"

"Not the first time," He told her, leaning over and kissing her softly, "Thank-you."

"Babe, I just want you to get better," She said and he smiled a small smile as they climbed out of the car, "No crazy tricks, ok? Just up, around in a circle, and back. No going upside down, or loops, or anything like that…"

"Yes, my lady," He replied as he took her hand, kissing the side of her head gently.

He took a deep breath as they walked over to the man who was standing by the plane. He was a short man, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Sir," The man reached out his hand to shake Fitz's, "It's an honor to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too…."

"Tyler," He replied, and Fitz nodded as he shook his hand, "Feel free to take a couple flights – I've got a couple hours. It's the least I could do."

"Thank you," Fitz said and he nodded.

"Gus was my little cousin," Tyler told him, with a very solemn face, "Seeing you – it's like seeing him back here again."

"I'm sorry," Fitz told him, "I didn't know that Gus was from around here."

"He wasn't," Tyler said, "I moved out here after the fact. When your girl here called me to see if she could reserve a plane for a night this week – I just knew that I had to let it happen. Anything to help you out, Commander Grant."

"Thanks," Fitz gave him a small smile, and Olivia kept looking from one to the other.

"It's not your fault, for the record," Tyler said, and Fitz raised his eyebrows, caught a little off guard, "It's not your fault for surviving. I was in the Air Force, it was nothing like what happened to you – but we lost a plane midair. I spent years blaming myself, and it's just not your fault, ok man?"

"Thank you," Fitz said, taking a deep breath.

"Well here ya go," Tyler said as he threw him the keys to the plane.

"Thanks," Fitz took another deep breath and walked over to the plane.

He took a minute to take it in, along with what Tyler had just said to him. He opened the small door and climbed inside. The controls were in slightly different places that he was used to, but it was all the same buttons – missing a few of course. He shut himself in side and exhaled heavily. He hadn't been in the air in almost two full years. He hated the fear that was rising up in him, and he put on the pilot's seat belt. He started up the engine and headed over to the small runway. It was slightly longer than the ones he was used to on the carriers.

He closed his eyes for a second, then started down the runway. It was as if all his training took over from there, and he was up in the air without a problem. He was cautious, because the plane was a bit different, but he managed to maneuver it with ease. He smiled, having forgotten how much he loved flying. He did a couple laps around the area, careful to stay within eye sight. He loved the feeling, and he did in fact feel a little bit better. He took a deep breath, and landed the plane so that he was facing where Olivia and Tyler were standing. He waited until he came to a stop and hopped out of the cockpit and motioned for Olivia to come over. He popped open the back half-door and let her climb in.

"Do you feel any better?" Olivia asked him later that night as they sat in the parking lot across from his building.

"You know, I do," He said, leaning over the center consul and kissing her, "Thank you."

"No problem," She said, leaning over and kissing his cheek, "I'd do anything for you – thanks for taking me up."

"So tell me the truth, you knew Tyler was related to Gus, didn't you?"

"You know me well enough to know that I do my research," She replied, and he smirked.

"Thank-you."

"I thought you both might be able to help each other," Olivia said simply, and he smiled.

"I love you, so much," He told her as he leaned forwards and moved a lock of her hair from her face.

"That's always nice to hear," She said smiling, reaching over and running her hand through his curls, "I'm worried about you, you know."

"I know," He replied, catching her hand and kissing her palm, "But I'll be ok, promise."

"You're sure?"

"Livy, I have one of the best reasons to be ok sitting right in front of me," He told her, kissing her forehead, "I won't leave you, Olivia, not even mentally. I will be ok, because you need me to be ok."

"Fitz…"

"I just wish you didn't have to go home tonight," He said, cutting her off casually.

"Then I will," She said and he quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't want your parents…"

"Fitz," She stopped him, "They love you – it's fine."

"Ok," He replied and she smiled as they got out of the car.

"Fitz…" She said again as they got to the door, she looked worried.

"What is it, Livy?" He asked casually as he got his key out and into the door.

"Nothing," She said, and he was a little confused.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."


	25. A Little Apartment

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Little Apartment

Olivia woke up a few days before they would be going off to Yale, together, alone in Fitz's apartment. She rolled over and looked at the clock, it was almost nine, which meant that he was off on his run. She sighed as she rolled out of bed and headed to the kitchen to get herself a quick cup of coffee. Most of the apartment was all packed up and ready to go, there was just a few things they had to finish up putting away and getting ready for transport before Stephen, Abby, Harrison, and Katherine came to help them get some of the boxes down to Stephen's apartment, where Fitz was moving in with him.

She took a deep breath and turned on the radio as she downed some of her coffee. He was keeping the apartment in Boston, so a lot of the stuff that they were packing up was just stuff he would need in both places – most of his clothes, etc. She got up and started finishing packing up as she sang along with the radio. She threw a few of the things they had picked up in the city the day before into a box and carried it towards the living room where they had been stacking up the boxes.

"…_Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away," _She sang under her breath as she walked into the kitchen,_ "I've done alright up til now, it's the light of day that shows me how, and when the night falls, the loneliness calls…" _

She threw a few more kitchen items that Fitz was packing because there was no way Stephen would have them as the song hit its chorus. She picked up a wooden mixing spoon that she had made him get and stepped back from the counter.

"_Ohhhh I wanna dance with somebody!_" She sang happily, starting to dance around the kitchen, "_I wanna feel the heat with somebody! Yeah I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me!" _

She danced over towards the radio to turn up the music, and letting herself get into the song. She was dancing around the kitchen, far too into the song to realize anything that was going on around her. She was whipping her head from side to side, enjoying it. She was smiling, for one of the first times in a while. She looked up and over towards the doorway as the second verse started up, and she was shocked to see Fitz standing in the kitchen doorway watching her, and smiling. He was in his Navy shirt, which had sweat stains from his run. He was smirking slightly, and she just stood there, not sure what to do. She was a little embarrassed, and frozen as the chorus started up again.

"_Ohhh I wanna dance with somebody_," Fitz started up the singing that time, as he walked over towards her, "_I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah I wanna dance with somebody, somebody who loves me." _

She started to laugh as he put his hands down on her hips and smiled, pressing his forehead against her's. She looked down and continued to laugh a little as he continued to sing to her. She was laughing too hard by the time the song ended and Fitz smirked down at her. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head as he slipped one hand around to hold onto her ass and used his other hand to turn down the radio. He took a deep breath and kissed the top of her head.

"I have to get a shower," He told her as she reached up and put her arms up around his neck, "You wanna join?"

"They'll be here soon," She said, looking over at the clock and he chuckled as he leaned in and kissed her forehead again.

"No funny business," He said, raising his hands up in surrender – she pouted, mostly because he took his hands off of her, "I promise – scout's honor."

"You weren't a scout."

"I was," He replied, "My mother's got the badges somewhere – you could ask her to show them to you at some point."

"You're endorsing me contacting your mother?" She asked.

"About boy scout badges, no problem," He smirked as he ushered her out of the kitchen and towards their bathroom.

Within a couple hours they were sitting around the mostly empty kitchen at Stephen's apartment. They hadn't quite started unloading the cars yet, but they were going to go and get the boxes. First the boys were going to have a beer, giving the girls time to run around and figure out where everything was going to go. Olivia had a mental picture, and Abby had a good sense of what they had brought – while Katherine just sort of tagged along for the ride.

"This place it beautiful," Katherine spoke up as they went to check the room that Fitz would be sleeping in, "You two are so lucky to get out of the dorms and into this place."

"We're still living in the dorms," Abby told her, and Katherine looked confused.

"I mean, we'll probably spend a few nights here on the weekends," Olivia told her, "But we're staying on campus during the week."

"Why?" Katherine asked as they walked to measure the closet.

"Focus, Kat," Abby told her, as Olivia checked the dresser.

"We still have to be in school," Olivia said as they walked out of Fitz's room, "You think either of us will ever want to get out of bed for class?"

"True," Katherine replied as they walked back to the kitchen.

"You girls get a good look at the place?" Stephen asked as they walked back in.

"You've cleaned it," Olivia remarked quickly, and Stephen chuckled.

"It was a condition of me moving in with him," Fitz replied as he finished his beer and put the bottle into the recycling as he led the way out to the cars.

As school started up, Olivia absolutely loved the fact that Fitz was now just a ten minute walk from her dorm. She was so much more happy than she had been when he was up at Harvard. His work schedule was if anything else even crazier – and she was worried about him. He still had nightmares – she could tell that he was still haunted by what had happened to him. He was changed, which was fine – she knew that that was something that would happen. It was still in her that she was just happy that she still had him. He had started up work with the governor there in Connecticut, and she couldn't imagine why he would go with that.

"Hey, Liv," Stephen said as she walked into the apartment on an early October Thursday night, "He's not home yet – Abbs and I were about to watch a movie, wanna watch?"

"I know he's not home," Olivia smiled at him as she walked in – her book bag over her shoulder and her bag for the weekend wheeling behind her, "He'll be here in a couple hours – I was going to come over later - the dorm's just really loud. I was going to study in his room until he gets back."

"You sure, Olivia?" Abby asked as Olivia went to make her way to Fitz's room, "You're going to study on a Thursday night?"

"I have to do it sometime, Abbs," Olivia said rather dismissively, "Enjoy your movie, guys. Pretend I'm not even here."

"Will do," Stephen teased her and she kept walking down the hall, "Joking."

"Love you too, Stephen," Olivia called over her shoulder as she turned into Fitz's room.

She put her clothes bag down in his closet and grabbed his Navy Sweatshirt from his dresser. He must've been wearing it to bed, because it smelled like him more than anything in the room. She put it on as she threw her book bag into the middle of the bed before climbing up. She propped herself up on his pillows and wrapped herself up in his blankets before spreading out her books, and notes, and study stuff. She had a huge test on Monday, and knew that she would only really have Thursday and Friday nights to work on it. Saturday night and into Sunday afternoon was reserved for Fitz – which was doable, for both of them.

She got the bulk of her studying done before she heard Fitz's car pull up outside the window. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. She put most of her stuff away and into her bag, leaving her notebook as she finished writing what she had been working on one of her notecards. She had the feeling that she would want most of the bed cleared off when Fitz came in. She didn't really look up as he walked in – anxious to get her thought down in its entirety before he began to distract her.

"What're you studying?" He asked as he kicked off his shoes in the doorway.

"1930's law," She replied, finishing her notecard and looking up as he loosened his tie.

"Well, at least it's interesting," He said, shutting the door as he slipped the tie off over his head.

"Prohibition, prohibition, mafia," She teased as he just about nosedived onto the bed right next to her.

"I'm so tired," He told her as she slipped the last of her study materials onto the floor on her side of the bed and he curled up around her.

"Then why're you working so much?" She asked him simply as she rolled over and looked into his face, "Honestly. No one would blame you for _just_ going to law school. You finished off the Navy, you're one of the most decorated American War Heroes since I don't even know when, you're going to law school at one of the top schools in the country – don't you think working for the governor could wait just a little bit."

"It was a good opportunity," He replied, leaning in and kissing her softly, "And I'm trying to figure out how to save up for something."

"It is, but babe, you and I and everyone knows that you don't need the money. You don't have to be there for this long of hours," She said, motioning over to the clock – which read eleven, "Slow down – babe, you're twenty-five. You're making everyone around you look like slugs."

"That's the point, right?" He said, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm worried about you, Fitz," She said, and he leaned up to give her a reassuring kiss.

"I'll slow down a little bit," He told her, "I promise – it's just this thing – it's important that I earn it."

"Is that what you're worried about – people thinking that you don't earn what you have?" Olivia remembered that he had had a few issues with that before – she didn't blame him for having issues with people thinking he was a spoiled little rich kid, "Fitz, I think that went away when you got back from the Navy. No one questions you earning what you have anymore."

"That's not it, Livy," He replied, and he took a deep breath, "It's fine – don't worry about it, ok? It's not important."

"It's not?"

"No."

"Then what is?"

"The fact that it is once again Thursday," He told her, kissing her softly as she settled down into his arms, "I have the most beautiful woman in the world in my arms for a few hours before I go to work tomorrow – and I'd like the rest of the night with her without interruption."

"My mom wants to know when we can go visit next," Olivia said, and Fitz nodded.

"I'm sure we can figure something out – you wanna go visit tomorrow?" He asked, "We can make a day trip out of it."

"No, I think it's ok," She replied, "They just get a little worried when they don't see either of us for a while."

"Have I mentioned how much I love your family?" He chuckled and she smiled.

"I'm just glad you all get along now," She replied, "Oh, my cousin's getting married in a month – my mom has to send the RSVP in. I said I had to see if your were working."

"Tell her to send it in," Fitz said, and Olivia was a little shocked, "It's much more important that I'm there with you than anything the governor could have me doing – he can last without me for a weekend."

"Seriously?"

"Liv," Fitz seemed surprised by her shock, "Any time that I get to spend with you is way more important to me than working, promise."

"Ok," She replied, and he nodded.

"Damnit," He said and she looked up at him, half startled, "Sorry, it's nothing – it's just I almost forgot that Arianna has a play next weekend at school. She asked us to come and I totally forgot to mention it to you."

"We should go," She said, and Fitz quirked an eyebrow.

"Seriously? You want to spend a weekend to go see a middle school play?"

"It's Ari's play," Olivia corrected him, "And she should have people there."

"Ok," Fitz said, "I'll get us plane tickets down to Ohio."

"Good," Olivia smiled as he pulled her in tighter, her face burrowing into his chest.

"What?" He asked, noticing a slight difference in her behavior towards him.

"Nothing," She replied as he leaned up and kissed his jawline, "I just missed you is all."

"Missed me?"

"You've been working like you're afraid that you were going broke for months," She said, and he nodded, "I just miss having you around is all."

"Well I'll be sure to make sure I am more than," He replied as he leaned over and kissed her softly, "I love you, remember that always, ok?"

"Of course," She replied, gazing up into his eyes and he smirked.

Then all of a sudden they heard Stephen's bedroom door slam out in the hall and Fitz started to chuckle.

"You come here for a little quiet, and it's not much different than the dorms," He laughed and Olivia took hold of his face.

"I come here for you," She corrected him, leaning in and kissing him, "I love you."

"Always good to hear," He told her, a little bit of a worrisome look in his eyes.

A/N: ARG so much to do, so little time :( Sorry you guys are getting the short end of the stick- trying to do better….Also, I wanted to get this great scene in with Fitz singing and dancing to like gangsta rap… but- that just didn't seem to fit the story (Can't imagine even a young 90s Olivia Pope listening to that) - so just picture that in your head for a second, lol :)

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no claim to any Whitney Houston Songs… (Just in case anyone thought that I did)…


	26. A Baby Sister

A/N: Hey everybody! (That's it, just thought I'd say 'hi')

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Six: A Baby Sister

"Good morning, Livy," Fitz said, if anything a bit sarcastically as Olivia shifted in her seat.

"Oh, be quiet," Olivia replied, not bothering to open her eyes.

She leaned her head back onto his shoulder and he shifted, mildly uncomfortable. This was normal, commercial airplanes weren't always the most comfortable things on the planet. Even for short flights like the one they were on got irritating. He smiled down Liv, who was attempting to sleep – and he really didn't have a single reason to blame her. It was extraordinarily late. They had left Connecticut as soon as he had been done with work – after one of the most stressful weeks he had seen her go through. After Monday alone he had decided to make a weekend out of going to Ohio. He called the hotel and had them give them a better room, and start their stay on Thursday night. He had decided to make it a romantic weekend, with the exception of Saturday night when they would go to see Arianna. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of her head.

"Livy," He breathed, stroking the side of her hair, "I have to get up."

"Oh, you are so lucky that you have an adorable baby sister who needs you," She grumbled playfully as she sat up and he got to his feet.

"You wouldn't leave her to the wolves, would you?" Fitz teased as he stretched.

"No," Olivia said simply as she put her pillow against the window and curled up again – this time pulling out her book.

"Don't get too comfortable without me," He commented, and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't think there's much chance of that," She mused, once again not bothering to look up from the pages of her book.

He excused himself to go to the back aisle, where the bathroom was. The flight was surprisingly full for a Thursday night out of Hartford. He smiled at a couple toddlers as he passed them walking down the aisle. He was actually surprised with the amount of difficulty he had had switching around the flights. He understood now, he had just been extraordinarily confused when they gave him such a hassle – it was a Thursday night. But apparently there were a lot of people that liked to fly out of Hartford to Ohio in the middle of the week. He hoped most them simply had a layover.

He stepped into the tiny room, and went to the bathroom. He washed his hands, and looked into the mirror. He splashed some cool water onto his face, then stepped back and took a deep breath. He thought about the ring in the little box that was sitting in his sock drawer in Boston. He had stashed it there to keep himself from giving it to her – at least until the summer. He was just glad that she hadn't caught on to the fact that he had been working so much just about the time that he was going to be able to slow down. Lucky she had been so focused on whatever she had been studying that she hadn't noticed that he was late coming home that night – she had just assumed he had worked late.

"Knock, Knock," He heard Olivia outside the door and he flipped open the lock.

"What's up?" He asked her as she snuck in, slipping the door closed behind her.

"Nothing," She said, wrapping her arms around him from behind, "You ok, Babe?"

"I'm fine, Livy," He smiled as he turned around and put his hands down on her hips.

"You sure?" She chuckled as he leaned in and nibbled on the side of her neck.

"I'm sure," He confirmed for her before kissing her softly on the lips.

"Ok," She smiled, stealing more kisses as he began pulling away.

"I love you," He smirked as his hands slipped onto her ass.

"We are not doing this," She giggled as he turned them around in a circle and lifted her up so she was sitting on the counter – his hands on either side of her thighs.

"Oh, and why not?" He asked as ran his fingertips over her shoulder and kissed her passionately.

"Mmm," She said as his mouth went to work in the crook of her neck.

"And why is it that we can't do this?" He asked seductively, letting his breath hit her ear.

"Attention Passengers, this is the Pilot speaking. I'd just like to take a minute to ask you all to return to your seats and fasten your seat belts as we start our descent into Columbus. I'd just like to thank you all for flying with us tonight."

"That's why," Olivia said as Fitz let his forehead fall onto her shoulder – she rubbed the back of his head, "C'mon."

"Damn," He said as he backed up and she slipped off the counter.

"Baby," She said, going up on her tip toes and cupping his face – kissing him softly, "We'll have a nice big warm bed in about a half an hour."

With that she was out the door and headed back to her seat. Fitz took a deep breath, waited a couple seconds, and then headed out after her. He took his seat just as the plane was starting to visibly go down in the sky. He buckled his seat belt and put an arm around Olivia. It was strange, out of the two of them, it wsa her that was still afraid of certain parts of flying. It was sort of cute, he kissed the side of her head softly, affectionately.

"I love you, Fitz," She said as she leaned back on his shoulder and he smiled, "You're a good person."

"Thank you?" He said.

"You're going to make an amazing dad," She said, and he quirked an eyebrow, and his heart stopped for almost a full second, "No, don't worry not any time soon. Just, the way you take care of Arianna, the way you are with kids—"

"Speaking of kids," He said, taking a deep breath as they walked off the plane and into the airport.

"Yes?" She said as they headed towards the baggage claim.

"The reason we have to fly back Saturday night, is they asked me to go to this thing in Boston."

"A thing?" She asked as he threw their bag over his shoulder and started leading her out towards the rental car.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you'd want to come along," He said, "They want me to talk to talk with some kids."

"I finally get to go to one?" She asked and he shrugged.

"If you want to," He said shyly as they climbed into the car.

"Why wouldn't I want to be there?" She asked, "How old are the kids?"

"Ah, it's not really strictly kids," He said, "From what I understand there's going to be a lot of people there."

"Ok," She replied and he sort of smiled a little bit as they drove away from the curb.

By the time they got to the hotel it was late, and Olivia who had already been exhausted to begin with passed out on the bed while Fitz was in the shower. He came out of the bathroom and smiled a little to himself as he dried off and threw on a pair of sweatpants. He pulled the covers down, and took off her shoes – tucking her right into bed before he went over to the other side and climbed in next to her. He snuggled up to her, and fell asleep himself within a few minutes.

"Good morning, Handsome," Olivia was sitting up when he woke up, and she had him firmly

"Mmm, Livy," He smiled as he turned his face and attempted to snuggle.

"You're very cute," She remarked, and he raised his head, giving her an indignant look.

"Who you calling _cute_?" He asked, and she chuckled.

"Sorry," She said, running her fingers through his curls.

"It's ok," He said as he rolled over and laid himself in her lap, "You can think I'm cute. Just try to call me it in private ok, I don't want to lose any of my street cred."

"Oh, big man on campus," Olivia said sarcastically – through a small amount of laughter.

"Nope, just yours," He replied, getting up on his knees next to her, "C'mon, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Anywhere," He said, leaning down and kissing her, "The pool? Shopping? Whatever you want."

"What do you want to do?" She asked and he shrugged.

"My plans are all for tonight," He replied, leaning down and kissing the side of her neck, "Therefore I offer you up the day."

"Can we just lay here, order food in, watch TV?" She asked, "Popcorn, wine?"

"Pretend it's summer time?"

"Oh, that sounds fantastic," She smiled as she just about threw her head back into her pillow.

The day passed too quickly as far as Fitz was concerned, and he regretted not having brought the ring. He was scared that she would think it was too soon – that it would scare her off. He had never really thought great things about long engagements, but there was something about Livy that changed his mind. He wanted her to know, that at the end of the line, without a shadow of a doubt it would be them. That he would wait, that she could do whatever she wanted, travel, go to law school, decided to drop out and join the circus – but in the end he would be the one standing there with her. At the end of the day, he loved her more than anything else. That was why he wanted to give it to her. Maybe if he explained that –

"What time is it?" Olivia asked as if got to be the early evening, and Fitz looked over at the clock.

"Crap, we should go if we're going to make the reservation," He said and she raised her eyebrows.

"Reservation?"

"I'm taking you out," He smiled, leaning up and kissing her cheek, "I'm taking my beautiful twenty-year old girlfriend out to dinner, and dancing."

"Well that's rather classy of you," She replied and he smiled.

"Well that's just the kind of guy I am," He teased her and she smiled, "C'mon it'll be fun."

"I don't have anything to wear," She commented and he shook his head.

"I thought I saw something in your closet when we got in."

"Fitz."

"What? Maybe they forgot to check the closet before we checked in…" He said as he hopped off the bed, "I call the little bathroom."

He took a quick shower and slipped into the suit that he had brought with him. He looked into the bathroom mirror, combing his hair quickly, throwing in a little bit of gel so that it looked a little more regal. He smiled, brushed his teeth, and then walked out into the bedroom portion to find Livy. She was standing in the middle of the room, and she looked absolutely beautiful. He had been entirely right with the dress – but he had to credit Ari with it – she had found it over the Winter Break– he had only bought it the week before.

"I hate you," Olivia said as she turned around, "You're devastatingly handsome all dressed up like that and all, but seriously? You couldn't have just told me to bring a dress?"

"Where would be the fun in that?" He teased her and she fought the smile on her face as he looked her up and down, shamelessly, "Besides, you look fantastic."

"You are the biggest pain in the ass," She said as he walked closer to her and leaned in, softly kissing her.

"I know," He told her softly, "But imagine if I didn't do anything like this – People would say 'Why is that beautiful girl staying with that jackass that doesn't appreciate her'. I don't do things halfway, you're just going to have to deal with me spoiling you."

"Fitz," She started again, but he silenced her with a kiss.

"Please, Livy," He said, "Give me tonight – we can go back to popcorn and wine tomorrow."

"Fine," She said and he smiled as he took her hand, kissing the back of it.

He led her out into the hall, and down to the elevator. She smiled and he leaned over to whisper into her ear.

"I can't wait to walk in there with you on my arm," He said and she smiled, blushing slightly, "To just show you off."

"Just so long as you behave yourself," She teased him, and he smiled, holding up a single hand, putting his other up on her shoulder.

"I hereby promise to keep hands to myself," He said, with a semi-straight face, "With the exception of you, and if you are in genuine danger - or if they swing first."

"Acceptable," She nodded, giggling as he wrapped an arm around her, stuck the other hand in his pocket and kissed the side of her head.

She was still laughing a little bit as the shiny silver doors opened on their way down. Fitz tore his lips away from her head just in time to catch a look at the couple that was already standing on the elevator. He could literally feel his heart dive bombing somewhere into his abdomen as he recognized his parents standing there, just looking at them. For a moment it was almost as if he were frozen in time, in complete disbelief. He blinked, and the elevator doors went to close. His father stuck his foot out to stop them.

"Well, son?" He asked as Fitz felt Olivia bring herself closer to him, "Are you two going down?"

Fitz cleared his throat.

"Ah, yes," Fitz finally nearly stammered out as he hesitantly led Olivia onto the elevator – she had gone silent, talk about a buzz kill, "What're you two doing here?"

It wasn't a question he really had to ask – he had a pretty good idea what they were doing there.

"We came to see Arianna's play," His father boomed out.

Fitz didn't even have to think about it to know it was a big pile of bullshit. Arianna had been doing musicals, and plays, and anything that she could find on a stage for as long as he could remember. She had started up as early as elementary school – and why his boarding schools had never let him go and see any of her shows – he had made a point of going whenever she had a show the minute he got out into the "real world". He was the only one that would go for her. Even when he was with Mellie she always came up with an excuse not to go. He would sit in the audience by himself, with a single rose to present to her at the end of the show. She was his baby sister, it was important that she knew she was important – to him if no one else in the family. The year he was in the hospital he had sent her flowers to wait for her backstage, and last year he and Olivia had managed to get Stephen and Abby to go. He was proud of her, she was good, and absolutely loved getting the phone calls of excitement when she landed the roles that she wanted.

"You two have never gone to any of her plays," Fitz said as the elevator made it's all too long trip down to the lobby.

"That's not true," His father said.

"Well we had the time," His mother tried to smooth things over, but Fitz could feel his temper rising.

He was angry that they were going to hurt Ari like this. The only reason they had shown up was to get to him, he wasn't answering his father's phone calls – and Ari would think that maybe they had eventually shown up for her. She would understand that she was mistaken immediately, when the day with her tomorrow, that was supposed to be all about her, would turn into being about him. He took a deep sigh and just shut his mouth. He wasn't going to let his father take this from Ari. He could ignore him just as well in real life as he could over the phone – if he tried.

"Olivia," His mother said, "That's a beautiful dress."

"Thank you," Olivia gave her a friendly, sincere smile – which confused Fitz a little bit, "I just got it as a gift."

"My son has an excellent eye."

"Ari picked it out over winter break," Fitz told them, and Olivia smiled.

"She did?"

"Yeah," said Fitz, shuffling – he couldn't believe that his mother was still there, with his father – he still didn't understand how she could stay.

Finally the doors opened and Fitz led Olivia away from them fairly swiftly. They got out into the parking lot and he opened the door for her.

"Fitz.."

"I don't want to talk about it," He told her, leaning in and kissing her forehead, "I want to have the night I planned – we can talk about it tomorrow morning, ok?"

"If that's what you want," She replied, allowing herself to be helped into the car.

He drove her over to La Roca, a restaurant that his Aunt had told him about. It was known for a classy ballroom atmosphere – which was exactly what he had been going for. Though, his parents' presence had put a damper on things, and things had not gone exactly as he had wished them to. There was an awkwardness between them that hadn't been there before – and he hated it. It made him feel almost too frustrated to properly go on with the rest of the date.

"Why were you so kind to my mother?" He asked as they got up the next morning – getting ready to take Arianna out to breakfast before her final rehearsal.

"She's been nothing but nice to me since your accident," Olivia said and Fitz nodded, "She does care about you Fitz – she calls me at least once a month to check on you."

"You're in cahoots with my mother?"

"She's just upset that you took the lack of divorce so bad," Olivia told him.

"That doesn't sound like her," Fitz said as they headed out to the car.

"Well she has," Olivia replied, "I think your accident changed her a little bit."

"Mmm, that may be true," He conceded as they got into the car and headed towards Ari's school.

They had a quick breakfast with Ari, cut even shorter by the director of the show calling her cell phone about halfway through eating. It was weird to see his baby sister, now seventeen. She was still the naïve, sweet, gentle, and mysteriously sensitive kid she had always been. He wasn't quite sure how she had escaped the Grant family that way, but there she was sitting in front of him – perfectly happy and smiling. He thought that this, this one instance was a good showcase of what a boarding school could do. At least it protected her for this long.

After they dropped her back at school, having the car already packed up with all their things to go to the airport right after the show, they drove around for a bit before it was time to go back for the show. They pulled into the guest parking lot, and Fitz smiled, shook hands, and waved to the other parents, beaming like he himself was one of them. Olivia stayed close on his arm as they walked into the theater.

"Excuse me," They heard a little voice, and they looked around.

"Hello there," Fitz smiled at a little boy standing in front of him.

"Are you Fitzgerald Grant?" He asked, his eyes wide, and Fitz smiled at him – squatting down to be eye level with him.

"I am," He said and the boy smiled wide.

"I knew it was you."

"Where are your parents?" Fitz asked him suspiciously, looking around the room for them.

"Kyle, there you are – oh, I'm so sorry Fitz," said a woman as she ran over and scooped the kid up.

"No problem, Mrs. Karnar," Fitz smiled, "I didn't realize Molly was in the play too. Or that you had a son."

"Oh, we were in Sweden for a couple of years," She said, "We had to pull Molly – just about broke her heart being away from Ari so long."

"We were so glad to hear that you were ok after that whole ordeal," She said and Fitz nodded.

"Oh, this is my girlfriend, Olivia," Fitz said.

"Nice to meet you," She smiled kindly, "Ok, I'll leave you kids alone, c'mon, Kyle. And Olivia – he's a good one, you should hold onto him."

"Who says I'd let you go?" Fitz teased her as Mrs. Karnar walked away and he kissed the side of Olivia's head, "Ready to find our seats?"

"Did you save a couple for us?" Fitz nearly cringed as he heard his father coming up to them, "Bridget, why don't you take Olivia down to find us some seats?"

"Ah-" Olivia tried to speak up but was whisked away and off his arm.

He looked to his father for a second, and the jovial and playful face he had painted on for the past couple days was gone – completely without a trace. His father motioned for him to follow him out of the theater, and he figured he might as well just go. If anything – there were quite a few words that he'd like to say to him. His father led him back and out into a small chorus classroom – no one was around.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Sorry?" Fitz's temper was rising, "I don't think you get the right to have any say in what I do. I think you lost that two years ago."

"You're throwing everything away."

"I'm going to law school."

"You don't need it."

"I want it."

"You're going to lose your status."

"No, I've taken steps to avoid that," Fitz told him, "Whether you like it or not – I've taken things into my own hands, dad."

"Then why aren't you running?!" He nearly yelled, "It's that girl, isn't it?"

"No, dad," Fitz could feel his face starting to burn, "It doesn't have anything to do with Olivia, but it has everything to do with you. It was under your orders that I even got sent there. Sure I got the ranking myself – thank God, but you were the one that pulled the trigger. It's your fault that I nearly died – that I hear people screaming as they fall to their deaths when I lay down at night. I'm not ready to be anyone's elected Official. I will be one day – but first I have to get myself better."

He finished abruptly, and when he was already halfway to the door when he saw Olivia in the doorway. She looked shocked – but not surprised. There was something off in her expression, but he chose to ignore it as he led her back into the auditorium.


	27. Feelings and Stuff

A/N: Ok, so addressing the drinking situation because of a question I got.. She's twenty, yes, but the only time I have her drinking in public (bar) is in Aruba where the drinking age is sixteen, after that is when I really show her drinking…also she's in college, and while not everyone in college drinks, a glass of wine with her boyfriend at twenty in their hotel room or in his apartment isn't that much of a stretch…alright, now that being said… enjoy the chapter :)

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Feelings and Stuff

He was so pretty in the morning, Olivia mused silently as she woke up in his arms the next morning. The sun was streaming in the window and she went up on her side and wrapped her arms more firmly around him. She brought him up closer to her, leaning over and kissing his forehead as he slept. It was one of the first nights in a long time that he had not woken up in the middle of the night screaming. She reached over and ran her fingers through his curls affectionately. His eyes slipped open. He saw her there, and let his eyes close again - she smiled as she scooted down and kissed his cheek lovingly.

"God I love waking up next to you," He breathed as she snuggled up to his shoulder - her fingertips tracing around on his chest.

"I sleep way better knowing that you're next to me," She told him, and he smiled.

"So why don't you stay with me from now on?" He asked and she smiled a little bit.

"Tempting," She said, as he leaned in and kissed her, "Very tempting."

"I promise I'll kick you out of bed every morning and force you to go to class," He said and she chuckled.

"Somehow I can't imagine any of that," She said as he burrowed into her arms.

"You're right - I'd be the one who's clinging to you begging you not to leave."

* * *

"Fitz, are you sure you're ok?" Olivia said as they pulled up to the back of the hall that they were using for the dinner.

It was a short speech, he had had her read it over on the plane, and it was all set to go. She had offered up a couple suggestions, and they worked together on it the whole flight over. At least that way they didn't have to talk about what had happened with his father – and something told her that he had wanted it that way. She had decided to leave it alone for the most part. It seemed to be working, she was wondering slightly how long he had known – he had clearly not wanted to discuss it with her. It sounded a bit familiar. They had spent Saturday night at the apartment in Boston, so that they would be closer to the auditorium in the morning. There was no real reason for them to go down to Connecticut and back. They had passed out almost instantly as their heads hit the pillows. The next morning he seemed pretty hell-bent on not talking about it. It wasn't until they were walking in – and he had started to look concerned.

"Of course," He told her, leaning over and kissing the side of her head.

"Ok," She said as they walked towards the hall, arm–in–arm.

"Are you ok?" He checked as she reached over and fixed his tie real quick.

"Yes," She replied, taking a deep breath as they walked into the dinner.

They were set up at a table with the governor, his wife, his son, and the mayor. The rest of the room was filled with just about any other person of high stature that you could think of. Cyrus was there, along with the president of Harvard. Everyone of major importance was there, with their children – their families. He took the seat closest to the governor, but first pulled out the seat beside it for her. She smiled slightly as she sat down and he smiled a little vaguely. It was strange being there for her. She couldn't fathom all of the faces that she was seeing properly. It was an intruiging feeling, not really knowing what was going on.

After dinner, and before Fitz's speech she was standing with him and the mayor, and the mayor's seventeen year old kid when she spotted Cyrus across the room. She leaned up on her tip toes and kissed Fitz's cheek then motioned over to Cy. Fitz gave her a little nod of encouragement and she left his arm to go and stand with Cyrus. He was about to head back to get ready for his speech anyways, but she still felt a little like she was abandoning him. She smiled as she walked right up to Cyrus and he gave her a one-armed hug.

"Your boy is doing very well," Cyrus told her as he sipped his cocktail, "I take it it's getting serious?"

"It's always been a little serious – it would have had to be," Olivia said, "But yes, very serious – very quickly."

"Is he planning on running for anything yet?"

"Not just yet," Olivia replied, "He's only twenty-five, I don't think he's really ready to run for anything yet. It's not like he can run for anything substantial, that he wants yet. He's in school, and when he wants to run for something – he has all the legs up he needs."

"People like him were born to lead, Olivia," He told her, "I had him in class, remember? He was always eight steps ahead of everyone else."

"Leadership's always in the cards," Olivia replied, "He's got plenty of time."

"Very True," Cyrus said, "Well give me a call when you're starting up a campaign – I'd love any chance to work with you two again."

"Cy," Olivia said, smiling, "What makes you think we wouldn't?"

"Good," He replied simply and gave Olivia another quick arm, "I'm happy for you Olivia, it seems you might have just found the guy that's going to come about as close as being worthy of you as possible."

"Hey, professor Beene," Mellie walked over to join the circle and Olivia swallowed.

"Oh, Mellie," Cyrus said, looking awkwardly between the two of them, "What're you doing here?"

"Just showing a little support," She replied, and Olivia searched the room desperately for someone else to jump to - Fitz must have already gone back stage.

"That's nice," Cyrus replied, and then looked over at Olivia, "What's the matter, dear?"

"Yeah, Olivia."

"Now Millicent how do you know my favorite student?"

"Well," Mellie said, "Funny story - Fitz and I were dating when he met Olivia here."

"Oh?" Cyrus siad, looking to Olivia - now fully comprehending the awkwardness of the situation.

"Yeah," Olivia took a deep breath, trying to keep herself together.

"No harm, no foul," Mellie said, the look on her face saying the exact opposite, "I can always tell when I'm not wanted. How is he?"

"He's ok."

"Yeah, he's always a bit - forceful," She said and Cyrus made a face, "It's just something you have to get used to."

Olivia furrowed her brow. What the hell was Mellie talking about? If she was talking about what she thought she was talking about, she was entirely caught off gaurd. Seriously? And in front of one of her professors? It wasn't as if she should be surprised - but what was she even talking about? Fitz was about as gentle as - she didn't know, something that was really gentle. Other than that fact, seriously? What the hell was she doing? Olivia took a good glance at her, trying to figure our what he angle was.

"Olivia, I'd like to introduce you to..." Cyrus pulled her away to another side of the room.

They looked up just in time to watch Fitz walk out on stage. Damn. He was so impressive in his suit, bow tie and that slightly crooked grin on his face. She knew him well enough to know that it was fake – but it was still an addition to his looks. He was drop dead gorgeous no matter what was going on, or how pissed off he was. It was a plus, but she just wanted him to be happy. The fake smile that she was looking at now was like a sharp knife to the gut. She hated seeing it, he had such an amazing smile when he was actually smiling. It was so beautiful, like a private moment they had between them that could be shared. It was like a little piece of the sexy look that he got in his eyes when they were alone, but something that everyone could see. She smiled to herself just thinking about it.

She wondered what would happen, and how long he had known about his father's involvement in sending him out on the mission. She was not sure how this was going to change them. She didn't like the way it had been in the past twenty-four hours, but she was hoping that was just the initial awkwardness. She hated everything about it, everything about the entire situation. She looked over her shoulder for a second - all those people here to talk to him, and it was mostly his father's doing. Maybe the whole world couldn't know, and couldn't know - but Fitz would. Fitz would know the amount his father's hand had to do with his popularity. This meant that his father got to claim anything he wanted about helping Fitz into office. Even if he couldn't do it in public, doing it in private would do just as much damage to Fitz. She took a deep breath, sighing heavily. That was some of the reason that she had chosen not to tell him. She had tried to convince herself it was the major reason. But she knew it had more to do with the threats of what his father could do to them. If he could send Fitz almost to his death without batting an eyelash, what would he do to her? To them? She was scared.

"I love you," She told him as they buckled up in the car - heading back to Connecticut.

"I love you too," He told her as he started up the car and started backing out of the parking spot he was in.

"You can talk to me, if you want," She said, a little shakily as he pulled out onto the street.

"Thanks, Livy," He replied - leaning over and kissing the side of her head, "I've known for a while - I got a letter a while back from someone. I don't know who sent it - but I believed it."

"I'm so sorry, Fitz," Olivia touched his arm affectionately, and he nodded.

"So how long have you known?"

She could tell that he was trying to keep it from sounding accusatory, but it was there. The whole question caught her off gaurd. She felt the wind rush out of her and looked over at him in surprise.

"You're suprised now? C'mon, Livy, I know you better than anyone," He told her, she saw him stiffen up and pull away from her a little bit, "The only emotion that wasn't on your face when you were standing in that doorway was surprise - so how long have you known?"

Olivia took a deep breath.

"The night we brought you home from the hospital," Olivia was honest, "When I went to get us water I heard your parents talking in their room. I wasn't sure at first if I had heard them right - I was just eaves dropping. But some of the things they were saying - I was scared, babe. I was scared what would happen if you knew. Your mother found out first. That's why they didn't get a divorce. Your father got her into some sort of deal - which included dropping the Mellie issue."

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" He asked, he sounded hurt, and she turned to face him, "Because of Mellie? How many times do I have to tell you that I don't- How many times, Olivia? Seriously?"

"That wasn't just it," She replied, "Though your family stoping throwing her at you was appealing, I'm not going to deny that."

"Than what? My mother?" He asked, "You know I've been confused, pissed off, and worried about that? You knew how to explain why she didn't leave when she was supposed to..."

"Fitz- I had just watched - seriously? You weren't ready to hear that your father sent you in there - do you even remember what you were like then?" She said, "How am I supposed to be like, 'oh, babe - your dad totally sent you in there to die' especially when we had just gotten you home from the hospital. Seriously? Besides your father almost had you killed, what would he have done to me? To us?"

"You don't have to be afraid of him," Fitz replied, he was angry - staring pointedly out the windshield, "I will protect you from him - I promised that I would, didn't I?"

"I'm sorry," Olivia replied, "I made a mistake."

"And you didn't have to tell me that night," He continued on, "You could have told me any time...This isn't the sort of thing I expect from you. I'd expect it from- I thought we were team, Liv. I can't believe you would help my father bury this - my mother..."

"Fitz.."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," He said simply.

The silence that permeated the car for the remainder of the drive was only the beginning. For a while Olivia gave him his space. She went back to her room that night with the intent of letting him cool down. She took a deep breath, took a shower, and tried to go to bed. She didn't call him the next day, or the day after that either. Abby was in and out - but she apparently knew better than to ask about it. Olivia figured that she had gathered that something had happened from going back and forth to and from the apartment. She missed him like crazy - and everytime she was walking to or from the dining hall that she went to she had to walk right along a portion of her usual route to the apartment. She had to fight herself every time. She wanted to give him space - it wasn't like he was calling her either.

Thursday night she was getting ready for bed. Abby had already left for Stephen and Fitz's. She had just changed from her jeans to a pair of Fitz's sweat pants and his Navy t-shirt. She had been putting on a strong, or as strong as she could, fascade that she was ok when Abby was around. She wasn't pulling the 'I'm falling apart' routine again. That would make it seem as if they were really over, and she didn't know where they stood as of yet. He hadn't talked to her since Sunday night, but that didn't really mean much, right? She took a deep breath as she pulled down the covers on her bed. It was only nine - but it wasn't as if she had anything else to do, or that she could do.

She was about to lay down when she heard a knock on the door. She threw her pillow down in a mixture of frustration and anger then crossed the room to get the door. At that point she didn't care about anything, really. She looked over at the desk and saw that Abby had forgotten her key. She took a deep breath - she had had a long week. She didn't care who was standing on the other side of the door - because they were getting a piece of her mind. It was probably Abby - realizing that she had left her keys before her and Stephen had gone out for the night.

She opened the door and there was Fitz. He was standing there, putting slightly more weight on his right leg. He had a backpack over his shoulder, and was dressed in a pair of flannel PJ pants and a green t-shirt. His hair was nearly standing almost on end, it was the worst case of bedhead that she had ever seen. His eyes were half closed, he had a similar expression as the one on her own face - and she looked down to see that he had his pillow in hand. She looked from it, and then back up to his face and then stepped aside. He walked in and set his backpack down near the corner of her bed.

He threw the pillow down up near her's - and she was surprised. She had been half expecting him to take Abby's bunk for the night. He slipped off his shoes and climbed right into bed - staring up at the ceiling. She was confused, then took a deep breath as she crossed the room and crawled into bed with him. She curled up and turned the other way - looking out into the room. Then all of a sudden she felt his arm wrap perfectly around her. It was the contact that she had been craving for the past few days. She closed her eyes and just let herself enjoy it - not thinking about anything too hard. They weren't talking - but she needed him, and apparently he needed her too.


	28. Living in Silence

A/N: Hey all, so hope you all enjoy the chapter... I just want the new episode to come back on right now. right now. right now. Ok, so maybe that won't work - but we can just keep ourselves on the up with some fanfiction... :) Enjoy.

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Living in Silence

If you had asked him even a few months ago what he thought his life would be like, this would not be it. It had been weeks, almost a month, since they had even murmured a word to each other. Yet there they were. All curled up into a ball, right up next to him. She was in the fetal position in the center of his bed. Her forehead was pressed up against his chest, and his arms were around her. It was a Saturday morning just before they were leaving to go back up near Boston for winter break. He wasn't sure what was going to happen then. He would be at the apartment in Boston, and she would be at her parents' house, starting Wednesday. When and how would he see her? How could he arrange for her to come to the apartment?

He couldn't help but think about what a Saturday morning used to mean between them. For starters, there were never any clothes involved, like there were today. The door would be firmly shut, and they would be underneath the covers. She would be playing with the hair on his chest while he let his finger tips trace around her beautiful little body. They would be talking, laughing, kissing, enjoying each other rather then simply clinging to each other as they had been. He missed that – he missed her, even as she was lying in his arms.

She sighed pretty heavily, and he pulled her in tighter to him, she didn't object. The silence would have to break soon – he couldn't handle it much longer. It was manageable while they were at school. They both had classes, work, and they were right next to each other geographically. He could just show up at her room, or she could just show up at his apartment. He hated the silence, he did, but he was sort of scared of what would happen once they started to talk again. What he would say. What the new argument would be. What sort of thing he was worrying about as opposed to what was going on in her own head. She was angry, and so was he.

It was pathetic, he knew that. He hated everything about their situation, except for the fact that almost every night he showed up at her door – pillow in hand. Their rule for sleepovers only on the weekend had flown out the window, as if because they weren't talking they needed the extra time together – even if they were unconscious. She went to the apartment on the weekends, and they managed. The pain that he knew both of them were feeling was only half numbed by their snuggling sessions. He was trying to figure out if they were doing more harm than good, but it didn't really matter. He couldn't function without her, and without them. It felt like they were clinging to that had once been great. Like they were desperately holding onto something so far gone that it didn't even seem to be prevalent anymore. He was terrified.

How much longer could they make it work like this? How much longer could they exist in silence before they just fell apart? He couldn't even think about losing her. It sort of already felt as if he had, but still. He still physically had her – and they hadn't spoken, so it wasn't like they could have officially broken up. He was just petrified that the first words they would speak to each other would end their relationship. He knew he had to do something about it – but had no idea what to say to her – how to fix it.

"Olivia," Abby poked her head into the room, and Olivia looked over at the door.

"What's up?"k Olivia spoke up, her voice a little weak.

Fitz loved the sound of her voice, it was like he cherished it just that t more now that he didn't have the luxury of hearing it as much as he used to. He missed it, so when she started talking to other people when he was within earshot, he paid attention. He loved just the sound of her voice, and all he wanted to do was figure out how to forgive her. He knew that she hadn't been in on it – that she probably honestly didn't want to tell him for his own good. He believed on some level that she just didn't want him to know. There was no benefit to either of them for him to know what his father had done. And he was fully aware that his father was an incredibly scary sort of person when he wanted to be.

He wanted to fix it all, forget about the whole thing, but he just couldn't. He was having such a hard time because he couldn't help but think about how it was something that he had no problem picturing Mellie doing. He hated it. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Olivia was different. That she was better than that, that she had just simply made a mistake. She had known better just hadn't managed to actually do the right thing. An error in o. He just wanted her to be the one to break the silence. He wanted to hear from her again that she was sorry, that she loved him, and that she missed him as much as he missed her.

The cycle would go on forever if they let it. They were both so stubborn that he could see it getting to that point. That was probably how they had stayed silent so long as it was.

".I was going to head to the mall this afternoon – I was wondering if you wanted to come along," Abby said carefully, "Get a little last minute Christmas shopping done."

Fitz wanted to speak up, ask her to stay with him instead - but his tongue remained paralyzed. He laid there nearly helpless, letting go of her just in time for her to roll out of bed and head to the shower down the hall to get ready. He waited until he heard them leave the apartment, then got up and went to shower himself. He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. He was sitting at the table eating it when Stephen walked in, his hair a mess - not having showered yet.

"So how's your morning?" Stephen asked him pleasantly.

"Livy and I still aren't talking," He replied, somewhat depressingly - Stephen nodded.

"And you still can't tell me what she did?" Stephen asked, "Or what you did? Or whatever happened?"

"She lied to me."

"About what?" Stephen asked, "What could possibly justify the way you two have been acting around each other? How could anything she could have done brought you two to this?"

"She kept something from me, something I had a right to know," Fitz said, somewhat angrily - and Stephen furrowed his brow.

"Did she apologize?"

"Briefly."

"Was it really her fault?" Stephen asked and Fitz looked up from his cereal to give him an incredulous look, "Sorry I asked - but seriously, what the hell happened? You two were almost sickening and now it's just depressing being in the same house as you. She's going to leave you, you know."

"You don't think that hasn't crossed my mind?"

"No, I don't think it has," Stephen said, somewhat angrily, "She doesn't have to take this crap from you. She's beautiful, smart, going places, and twenty years old. In the past two and a half years you've dragged her through just about everything that any sane person could think about happening in a relationship, and more. You died on her, Fitz. Maybe not literally, but you weren't here with her when that news report came in - her whole world completely came to the ground. She couldn't even stand up - and now you're treating her like absolute shit - like you're just walking around with her because you can't be bothered to wipe her off. And the worst part is that I know you love her too. Love allows for forgiveness, Fitz. It's bigger than some mistake she made, or either of you made for that matter."

"I don't want to talk to you about this, Stephen," Fitz said and Stephen scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Of course you don't," He said and Fitz buried his face into his cereal again.

"Do you want to go to the gym with me, or not?"

"Sure," Stephen said, "Only for a little while - Abby, Olivia, and I are going out tonight - I guess I was supposed to invite you."

"Thanks for the heads up," He replied and Stephen shook his head.

"It's just - weird," Stephen said, taking a deep breath, "Abby and I should not be the gofers going between the two of you."

"I'm not in the wrong," Fitz told him, and Stephen rolled his eyes again.

"Who the fuck cares who's in the fucking wrong?" Stephen asked, "Your parents really screwed you up with the way that their marriage works. I'll give you a hint - it doesn't matter who was in the wrong, because you could point fingers from either side of the line all day. The part about stepping up and being the man is being the one to realize that there's something wrong, and fixing it - because you love her. Apologize, and mean it. Tell her you love her, and mean it. You're going to lose her if you keep this up. I dealt with I don't even know how many people coming to me and telling me that you were a spoiled little brat while we were growing up. Not once did I think that any of them had a valid point, until now."

"Are you coming to the gym or not?" Fitz left the room angrily.

Eventually Stephen left the kitchen, and and changed to walk with Fitz to the gym that was down the street. They separated and went their different ways as soon as they walked in – each going to their corner of the gym. Stephen was a runner when he could fit it in, while Fitz was much more about lifting, doing cardio only enough to keep himself up with it. The good thing about this was that the only other time they really saw each other was when they were crossing the gym so that Fitz could hop on the tredmill, and Stephen was heading over to the weights. This gave Fitz plenty of time to mull over what Stephen had said to him, as he ran on the ever going track – aka the treadmill.

He wasn't an idiot, he knew that Olivia had only stayed this long because she loved him. He knew that the only reason he had made it the past couple of years was because of her presence. He knew how lucky he was to have met her, to have her in his life. He jogged on the treadmill as he let his thoughts take off from him. He knew that he didn't want anyone else, and he knew that he was never going to want anyone else – it had just gotten so bad between them. He looked at his watch, and slowly got off the treadmill.

It slowed down and let himself slowly step off the end of it. He turned around and caught one of the girls on the bike behind him checking him out. He took a sip from his water bottle and looked over curiously. She was blonde, had her hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing one of the brightest workout outfits that he had seen. Olivia usually just wore some shorts and a t-shirt when she tagged along, but usually she opted for the pool instead. He raised his eyebrows as the girl stopped the bike and got off. He sort of started to panic as she started to walk over to him. However, Stephen managed to pop up by his shoulder at the exact right moment.

"What the hell are you doing?" Stephen said as he stepped up right next to him.

"Nothing," Fitz replied, and Stephen gave him a look – like he was telling him that he wasn't a complete idiot.

"He's mine," Stephen announced, in his usual outrageous manner to the girl as he put an arm around Fitz's shoulders and walked him out of the gym and out onto the street

"Ok, you made your point," Fitz said and Stephen looked a little like his father had in Fitz's last encounter with him.

"No, I didn't," Stephen said angrily, "Do you have any idea how much that little exchange – meaningless as it may have been – would have hurt Olivia? Do you even care about her anymore? Because if you don't you should let her go."

"Of course I care," Fitz replied, his temper rising, "Olivia is the love of my life."

"Then start acting like it," Stephen said, "You have never acknowledged anyone, anywhere since you started dating her. You love her, than start chasing her. Because right now? Your worst fear has come true, and you don't deserve her. I know that's been something you've been struggling with this whole time – but seriously – you don't deserve her right now."

"Well then why didn't you go after her?" Fitz asked him angrily.

"I would have, but she was already in love with you by the time I met her," Stephen pointed out, "I was hoping you wouldn't find out about my little crush – but I'm with Abby – and I'm happy. I love her, and I would never treat her like you're treating Liv right now."

"When you thought I was dead, tell me the truth, did you think about it?"

"What? Being her shoulder to cry on? Making her mine?" Stephen said as they walked, "I didn't have time, and looking back I probably would have, but I wouldn't have been able to be second. I would always be second to you – and I have much too big of an ego for that."

"I really hate you sometimes, Stephen," Fitz replied.

"You don't think I don't hate you?" Stephen asked and Fitz took a deep breath, "But you two were meant for each other – you have to know that I would never-"

"I know," Fitz replied, his head down now – he felt bad, "Sorry I brought it up.

"No problem," Stephen said, "It's good to get things like that out in the open."

They got back to the apartment and Abby and Olivia were already sitting around getting ready. Fitz ran to hop in the shower, and got dressed just in time to catch up with them as they headed out to the cars. He offered to drive, and they all piled into his little car. He wasn't going to be drinking, and while the girls couldn't while they were at the club, there was still that chivalrous part of him that wanted at least him or Stephen to drive. Stephen would be drinking, so he figured that it would be best if they just took his car. They were going up to Boston, spending the night up at his apartment so at least he wouldn't have to drive all the way back to Connecticut that night. He parked outside the apartment, and they walked the remaining blocks to the club. Their favorite, that they had found over the summer.

"I'm going to head over to the bar," Stephen said as they walked in, "Does anyone want anything?

"I'm ok," Fitz told him and Abby followed him over to the bar.

That left him alone with Olivia. He looked over at her, and she gave him an impatient look before taking off into the crowd by herself. He tore off after her, but she had managed to lose herself in the crowd pretty quickly. He spent a good fifteen minutes wandering around looking for her before he spotted her. She was dancing in the middle of a circle of guys – there were a few girls standing, but it was mostly guys. He made a quick movement to go over, but stopped himself. He deserved this – he deserved to have to watch her dancing with them, and he took a spot on the wall – keeping an eye on her. It was all innocent enough. He was a jealous man when it came to Olivia, that hadn't changed. But, he wasn't about to act on it, so no matter how much it hurt him, or annoyed him, he stayed back.

She looked around after a while – and he knew that she was looking for him. Though, he couldn't bring himself to make his presence known to her. He took a deep breath and she looked right at him. There was no denying that she knew that he had been watching her, from a distance. She was looking at him too, as if daring him to make a move, to do something to stop what was happening. He took a deep breath, he knew it was what she wanted. She wanted him to do something, to show her that he still cared. After a minute without him moving a muscle, she picked one of the guys at random – she didn't even look - but she pulled him aside to dance apart from the group. That was enough to pull him out of his trance, and within seconds he stepping between them – shooting the guy a glare over his shoulder as he placed his hands down low on her.

"Hey, step off," The guy said, trying to get up in Fitz's face.

"Go away," Fitz told him, clearly agitated.

"Why, pops?" He said, "Aren't you a little old to be hanging around here. This is eighteen plus, maybe you'd be more comfortable at I don't know – 21 plus, or maybe a nursing home..."

"Get the hell away," Fitz said under his breath, and Olivia looked over at the other guy.

"You should go."

"What? Is this your man or something?"

"Yes," Olivia told him simply and he gave up – disappearing back into the crowd.

The rest of the night they spent together, dancing in silence. Eventually they found Stephen and Abby. The rest of the night, no one bothered them, and Fitz racked his brain trying to figure out how to break the silence that was like a cement wall between them. Her shoes were visibly and very apparently starting to hurt her about halfway back, so he picked her up and carried her – with an intense silence – the rest of the way back to the apartment.

"I'm hungry," Abby said, almost as soon as they walked in and Fitz had set Olivia down, "I don't suppose you keep anything here, do you?"

"Not food," Fitz said, unbuttoning his shirt and letting it fall onto the couch.

"We'll go get some Chinese," Stephen offered her his arm, "The place down the street's open til two. It's good too, we used to go there all the time."

"Ok," Abby said as they turned and were out the door.

Fitz turned around to look at Liv, and only managed to catch her backside heading towards their bedroom. He went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. He drank it down in one gulp, and slipped off his shoes. He pushed them to the side of the table, checked the scores of the game he had missed, and then took a deep breath. He went and took a quick detour to the bathroom, and then headed solemnly into their bedroom.

He walked in, and Olivia was sitting on the bed. She had stolen a pair of his shorts, and a t-shirt to sleep in. Her dress from the night was hanging on a hook on the inside of the closet door. It took him less than a second to realize that she was crying, and started right for her. But he stopped, something was wrong. Tears were streaming down her face - and she was hunched over. Usually – and he used usually loosely – on none of the few other times that he had seen her cry was her stance like that. He stopped himself a few inches from touching her shoulder, and noticed that there was a pair of his socks sitting next to her on the bed. He knew what had happened before he even saw the small box in her hands, and before he even spotted the diamond ring that was sitting very carefully inside of it.

"Livy.."

"Don't touch me," She snapped through her tears as she looked up at him, angry tears falling quicker than ever, "What the fuck is this?"


	29. Salt in the Wound

A/N: Hey... *hides face behind arms* please don't shoot... I'm working on the lack there of chapter every day... but I'm not sure how I'm going to figure this out... but I promise, I'll at least work on getting them a little more regular (not promising everyday)...also, Lisa :) Enjoy :)

Skylines

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Salt in the Wound

"He'll come around, Liv," Abby said as they shifted through the racks at the mall - she pulled out a brightly colored dress for Olivia's approval.

"For you or for me?" Olivia asked.

"You."

"No," Olivia said, shaking her head.

"Oh c'mon, Liv," Abby said, "You'll look great in anything, if we pick something really sexy Fitz might decide he's speaking to you again. That way you two can get out of that weird not talking, just kind of existing thing you guys are in."

"I don't think that's going to work," Olivia said as Abby pulled out a dress, that was a hardly a dress, "And there's no way in hell I would ever wear that - anywhere."

"Not even just in the bedroom with Fitz?" Abby checked, and Olivia rolled her eyes, "Seriously, what happened? You guys were always to cute, and it's not like he doesn't worship the ground you walk on. Still, he worships the ground you walk on. How the hell does that change, literally overnight?"

"Something happened, it was - something stupid," Olivia said, "It was really something his father- just don't worry about it, ok?"

"So what's gonna happen?"

"I don't know," Olivia said, "I guess we'll just be in limbo like this until he finally just breaks up with me."

"That's pathetic."

"I'm very aware.

"So why don't you just end it?" Abby asked as Olivia picked out a dress that was much more - her, and they headed back to the dressing rooms, "You've never been one to hang around like this. I don't understand why-"

Olivia gave her a look.

"I can't."

"Oh God," Abby said, "If a man can turn _you_ into a jell-o filled doormat, what hope is there for the rest of us?"

"Shut up and hand me that dress," Olivia said as they passed a rack full of little black dresses.

"Fine," She said, handing her the dress and they disappeared into the fitting room.

They got back to the apartment, which Olivia now thought of affectionately as the Silent Zone. She paused a second to look up at the building with a little bit of contempt. At a certain point in time she would have listed it as one of her favorite places in the world, and yet no. Today and for the last couple weeks all she could think of it as was a prison. She wanted to walk in and act like nothing was the matter. Maybe if she walked in and just started talking to him, acted like the last couple weeks hadn't happened he would act normal back. Or he would completely ignore her - act as if she still weren't talking to him. That would hurt more. She exhaled sharply as Abby led the way up the steps. They walked in to hear the shower going, and Stephen was sitting in the living room with a beer.

"Hello, ladies," Stephen said happily, "Find something pretty, each of you?"

"We did," Abby said as she sat down next to him, and leaned in and kissed him softly.

"Fitz took the second shower," He told Olivia as he pulled away from Abby.

He had the reminisce of a smirk that would have once shown up on his face had everything been normal. Because, if everything had been normal, Olivia would have taken off down the hall as soon as he had said that Fitz was in the shower. By the point that Stephen's charming and knowing smile crossed his face, she would be shedding her clothes in the bathroom. She would take her time, trying to stay as silent as possible so that she would be able to surprise him as she climbed into the shower with him. She missed feeling like she could just do that - like she could just jump him without a single thought. As if she weren't a stranger.

"C'mon, Liv," Abby seemed to see her face starting to fall, "I want to show you something.."

They walked into the club that night, and Olivia couldn't help but want to be anywhere but there. This was their favorite nightclub, mostly because it was so much fun. It was the sort of place where no one really cared about anything else going on around them - which meant that they could do whatever they pleased without having to worry. But most of all, it was a happy place - she didn't want to ruin it now. They had spent the majority of their nights in the summer there, and she didn't want to ruin the whole place with this stupid fight that they were having now. She sulked into the back of their group as they walked in. She looked to Abby for a little bit of help - but then she took off with Stephen to get him a beer.

She looked over at Fitz for a split second - then took off. She couldn't associate these horrible feelings that she had about him with this place. She felt terrible, abandoned, and guilty. She felt as if there was absolutely no point, no hope for them, and she slipped away into the crowd. She passed a couple groups dancing on her way to the wall. If she could just avoid everyone until it was time to go then she wouldn't have to worry about it. That way she wouldn't have to associate this Fitz - the different, angry, cold Fitz with this place. The way he had been, that's what she wanted to take away when it all ended. She wanted to remember him as her perfect, sweet, gorgeous, patient Fitz.

She realized that Fitz had noticed that she was gone. He was looking for her, she knew he would because he was still that sweet honest guy inside of that icebox he had locked himself in. Olivia looked around the room and saw everyone having fun before she made a split second decision. She didn't want to be depressed anymore, she didn't want to be upset and angry, and shut out anymore. She looked around to try and find the least intimidating group, and joined them. They were mostly guys, but it didn't really matter, did it? If Fitz had a problem with it, then he was more than welcome to interfere - at least then she would have an idea of where they stood. Whether or not he even really cared about her anymore.

"Oh look at you," One of the guys said, and she forced a smile.

It was nice, because none of them knew that it was fake, or forced. She just danced, and didn't care what the hell was going on around her, that was until she looked up and saw Fitz watching her. Her blood boiled - seriously? He was just going to stand there watching her like a lost puppy. She felt like she could scream, right there, out of pure frustration. She was so fed up with everything that was going on, and then she looked at him another time - making eye contact. She loved him, and she wanted to go to him. She wanted to make everything better, make it ok. It killed her. She was stronger than this. She wouldn't do it. Their collapse wasn't all on her, and she wouldn't be the one to fix it for him. He couldn't just sit there like a kid, waiting for someone else to fix it for him.

She took one of the guys, at random. She hoped that the personalization of not just dancing with a bunch of guys - but one, would light a fire under his ass. She was tired, and bored with their situation - she just wanted it to be done. If he was going to forgive her, than he needed to do it soon. And, if they weren't going to get better, than it needed to end, and it needed to end soon. She wasn't going to just sit in limbo in misery. If he didn't do something soon - she was out. It would kill her, but she would do it. She took a deep breath, and quickly realized that Fitz was pushing himself between her and the guy she was dancing with. Damn. What was she thinking - she couldn't leave him...

"Hey, step off," The guy said, trying to get back to her.

"Go away," Fitz told him, and Olivia looked at the ground.

"Why, pops?" He said, "Aren't you a little old to be hanging around here. This is eighteen plus, maybe you'd be more comfortable at I don't know – 21 plus, or maybe a nursing home..."

"Get the hell away," Fitz said under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear, and she looked at the guy.

"You should go."

"What? Is this your man or something?"

Or something. "Or Something" was exactly the answer she wanted to give. However, a quick glance up at Fitz and she knew how much that would hurt him. He loved her. No matter how much he had been hurting her in the past couple weeks, she couldn't hurt him. She loved him, and he loved her, and everything else was just in the way. It didn't matter - that's why they were going through the motions.

"Yes," Olivia told him simply, with a slightly apologetic look and he took off.

She had been hoping that as soon as he was in her arms, and the other guy was out of sight he would start talking. She wanted to hear his voice. But she didn't just want to hear his voice, she wanted to hear him talking to her. That sweet, slightly deeper, sexy voice that he always seemed to adopt when they were together. But he didn't say anything. He put his hands down low on her hips, the possessive lover that she knew was there, but it was somehow not what she had known. It was almost worse being there like that with him. No words. She had to blink back tears as they danced together. They were both to weak to do anything but continue on together. She had to end it. She was flip flopping, but she couldn't let something so good fall so downhill.

He carried her the majority of the way back to the apartment, the sweetness of him cherishing her wasn't lost on her - but it didn't really help either. As soon as they got to his apartment for the night, she went off. She didn't want to deal with him any more than she had to. At least in that moment, she wasn't strong anymore. She left the room as Stephen and Abby left for food - of course, leaving them alone once again. She went straight to the bedroom - she was tired. She just didn't care anymore. She stole his pajama shorts from his bottom drawer, and threw on his Navy shirt. Her toes hit the floor, and it was cold. She opened up his sock drawer without a second thought, and started rifling through it for her favorite pair of his socks.  
Suddenly, her hand hit something solid, a contrasting hard to the fabric of socks.

She grabbed hold of a small box and pulled it out to examine it. Her heart sank, she knew exactly what it was as she flipped it open. Inside was the most beautiful diamond ring she had ever seen. It was classy, diamonds lining the band interweaving and going up to one of the clearest and most beautifully cut diamonds she had seen. Even in the movies. She took a deep breath, and it felt like glass was stuck in her lung as she stepped back and sat down on the edge of the bed. This wasn't happening. This wasn't the way that she was finding out that he had been that close to asking her to marry him. She took another deep breath, the glass that wasn't really there cutting deeper into her. She was mad. How could he even think about taking such a huge step, and then taking it all back like he had been? Had she really screwed them up that badly? Did he really take it as that serious of a betrayal?

"Livy?" He was so close he could have touched her by the time she realized he was there.

"Don't touch me," She said, and he stopped his outstretched hand, he looked down and noticed the ring, as she noticed that she was bawling her eyes out - great, "What the fuck is this?"

Olivia looked down at the engagement ring one more time, and then back over at Fitz – who was apparently frozen in time. He looked shocked, like he had forgotten that it was there. Which made her start to wonder how long it had been stuck in his sock drawer – maybe it had been intended for Mellie. Obviously it wasn't – right? Her first thought was that it was for her, but what if it wasn't? What if he just hadn't gotten rid of it since Mellie. He hadn't bought her a ring, had he? He would have mentioned, right? The silence most certainly was not Fitz's friend in that moment. Her mind kept racing through a billion different scenarios, each one worse than the one before it. She took a deep breath and was about to ask again - which would have made Fitz in even deeper trouble than he had started off in.

"It's an engagement ring," Fitz cleared his throat, and she looked up to see him shift awkwardly, "I bought it for you. That was why I was working such long hours all summer, and the past couple months. I was saving up to buy it all on my own. I wanted that at least not to be anything that anyone could take away from me."

"You were going to propose?"

"I hid it here so that I would at least wait until the summer," He replied, "I mean, I was scared too – you want school, and law school. All things that I love – I just don't want to get in your way on those, but I do want you to know that that is my intent. It was almost instantly my intent."

"So you were going to what? Ignore me until the summer, then propose?"

"I had no intentions of ignoring you, and if you thought that was what I was doing, I'm sorry," He replied, taking a deep breath.

"You had no intentions of ignoring me? Are you kidding me?" She asked, hoping that even he could figure out that it wasn't a real question, "How could you possibly think that you were ready to propose to me if you weren't ready to realize that I'm not perfect?"

"I overreacted," He replied, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry you don't deserve the way I've been treating you..."

"You're right I didn't," She replied, leaning back, letting the stiff rigid stature she had been holding as he put a hand on her back, "But at the same time, I should have told you – and I knew I should have. For that, I'm sorry. You need to be able to see me as someone who's on your side, and I wasn't. I was trying to keep it from you – protect you, but I was doing the opposite, and I'm sorry."

"It's ok, I would have done the same thing," He said, as if he had been going over it and over it in his head, "I wouldn't have told you if it were the other way around. I don't know how I could. Your father would definitely not be let off so easy – but…"

"So what now?" She asked, taking a deep breath – he smiled.

"I love you, Livy," He replied, "These past couple of weeks have been an absolute hell. I missed you so much – It didn't matter what had happened anymore. I just want to be with you. But I think we need to figure a few things out first."

"Clearly," She replied, and he smiled.

She couldn't help but smirk slightly as he very cautiously leaned back and wrapped an arm around her. He took the box from her, and the ring. He snapped it shut, and put it on the bedside table. She laid down in his arms, and he leaned in and kissed her softly. She smiled as the feeling of his lips ran like electricity across her's. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head into the side of his neck. He smiled as he ran his hand down the side of her body and held her tight.

"I love you," He breathed and she looked up at him adoringly.

"I missed you so much," She breathed as he took a deep breath.

"You have no idea," Fitz told her as he laid back, his head hitting the pillow as he pulled her impossibly closer to him.

"I'm sorry for pulling that crap in the club with those guys," She said, "It killed me, all I wanted was to dance with you, baby – but I wanted to make sure that you wanted me. I wanted you to do something – I wanted you to…"

"I know," He replied, "But you looked like you were having a good time…"

"I wasn't," She replied simply and he nodded.

"I've got that now," He replied, and she chuckled as he leaned in and kissed her again.

"Good, cause Fitz, I don't want anyone else but you."

"Tell you what," He told her, reaching over and picking up the ring box off the bedside table, and handed it to her, box closed, "Here you go. When this ends up back in my sock drawer, I'll know it's time."

"Seriously?" She gave him a look, "This is beyond the weirdest proposal I've ever even heard of."

"It's not a proposal," He replied, "Trust me, I got some plans hatching for that."

"Ok," She replied and he nodded, "You've got yourself a deal."


	30. I Would

A/N: Hey, enjoy the episode tonight (I'm a little depressed because I have to work tonight, and we don't have cable in my office….upsetting, but I'll be watching it first thing in the morning!) Anyways, enjoy the chapter, I owe you guys at least a little Olitz cuteness, no?

Skylines

Chapter Thirty: I Would

Getting back into the old routine with Olivia was harder than Fitz had expected it to be. By all means he was happy to have her back snuggled up happily next to him, and speaking to him. She had missed him nearly as much as he had missed her, that much was evident. But, there was still a certain awkwardness between them that had never been there before – and it only seemed to exist outside of the bedroom. Maybe it was because that, to a certain extent, had remained intact? At night he had still fallen asleep next to her, and woken up next to her the next morning. He figured it was nothing that they wouldn't get over with time, and he kissed her forehead as she slept in his bed in Boston. He had practical paid Stephen off to take Abby and go entertain themselves elsewhere for that weekend – he needed alone time with Olivia. He needed to patch up the holes and scars that they had made in the past couple weeks. He needed her – and she needed him.

He gazed down lovingly at her as she continued to sleep peacefully in his arms. He loved her, more than anything and in that exact moment he knew it more than ever before. He had to try and keep himself from waking her up. They had been up late the night before trying to figure out their plans for their winter break. They had just finished their finals, and rather than spend the night before Olivia was due to be delivered home to her parents for a while they had decided to spend the night in Boston. He would have her back at home for dinner, which her mother was cooking for both of them. He gazed back down into her sleeping face, and smirked as she mumbled in her sleep.

"Mmm, Fitzz," She moaned slightly and his smirk widened.

She had done the same exact thing when they hadn't been speaking. It was adorable, and he hadn't had the heart to tell her – he probably never would. He figured that laid outside their new 'we tell each other everything rules', at least until he saw fit to tease her about it. It was something innocent, small, and all his. It was like an extra layer of love that he now knew without a doubt was there. Her subconscious telling him exactly how engrained he was into her mind. He took a deep breath, and figured that it would be acceptable to wake her up. He looked over to the clock as it changed to tell him that it was almost exactly ten.

"Livy," He breathed as he hovered over her.

He leaned down and grazed the very edge of his lips against the soft skin of her neck. He hummed softly as he dragged his lips carefully across her shoulder – barely touching his lips to her skin. She moaned like a little whisper in her sleep, and he smiled as he left small, neat, open mouth kisses across her, then up the other side of her neck and up to her ear. He kissed it tenderly, like if he used to much force it might shatter into a million pieces. Like she might shatter into a million pieces.

"Mmm, babe," She breathed – her eyes not even open yet.

"I love you, Olivia Carolyn Pope," He breathed, collapsing beside her and burying his face into her closest shoulder.

"Well see, that's not fair," She replied, one eye opening to look down at him, cuddled around her arm.

"What isn't? How is me loving you not fair?" He asked, suddenly concerned.

His head jerked up, going from resting comfortably on her shoulder to being propped up slightly on a pillow. Her eyes opened fully, and a smile spread across her face as she rolled over onto her side. One hand went straight up to cup the side of his neck, the other to stroke his hair. The first hand slowly started to slip lower, caressing his chest. He allowed this to happen, he was like butter in her hands, and he didn't even care. He wanted her to be closer, he wanted to hold her as close as he could and never let go – but right now he was paralyzed by her hand on his chest.

"It's not fair that your name's so long," She replied, "You can say 'I love you' with my full name and it's cute. If I tried it with your name it wouldn't work."

"Tough luck," He replied, pressing his forehead against her's – his patients running thin as he pulled her closer to him, "Would you like me to shorten it? I'd go right down to whatever office handles that and make it shorter for you. Make it flow. I could, if you wanted me to – I would."

His eyes slipped closed as he finished the sentence, and he heard Olivia giggle.

"No, that's quite alright," Olivia's smile was the first thing he saw as he opened his eyes, "I love you too, Fitz."

"So what are we going to do today?" He asked her, his finger tips tracing circles on her side under the sheets.

"Let's walk around the city," She said simply, and he quirked an eyebrow.

"It's twenty-five degrees out."

"C'mon, it'll be fun," She said, "We'll get all bundled up – maybe find a place to go ice skating? Maybe in the common?"

"Ok," He said, recognizing that it seemed to be something that she really wanted to do.

She pushed herself closer to him, and he smiled as he pulled her tighter. He propped his chin up on the top of her head. Before long he started to feel her lips as she started to get at his neck, which was fully exposed to her. His head fell a little to the side as she nibbled playfully around his neck, his Adam's Apple, and finally up towards his ear. She was straining a little to reach it without moving roo much – but it was adorable nonetheless. He cocked his head a little to the side so that she could reach it a little easier.

"So what was that about going skating?" He asked, his eyes half closed.

"You didn't seem too thrilled about it," She replied, and he shrugged in perfect time as she pulled away from him to look up at his face.

"I would love to go skating with you," He told her, the back of his hand grazing the side of her face lovingly, "Then I'll take you to lunch, and then we'll head down to your house."

"Ok," She replied, and he nodded as he leaned in and kissed her on the nose.

He brought her to Boston Commons to skate on the frog pond, that was the easy part. The hard part was inner battle with himself on whether or not he should be holding her hand on the way there – once they got onto the ice? He could skate pretty well – and by that he meant that he could easily skate around in a circle with no danger of falling down. However, if memory served him correctly Olivia was a little less fortunate in that department. It was one of the few things that he could pinpoint that she didn't do perfectly. It was almost strange – he figured he would hold her hand once they got to the little makeshift rink.

"Don't be afraid of me, Fitz," She said as they sat down on a park bench to put on their skates.

"I am not just afraid of you, I'm terrified," He admitted, pausing and looking up at her – hunched over trying to tie his skates, "Liv, you are the world to me. I'm scared shitless that we might not be ok. The idea of you not being around – I can't even think about what would happen to me without you. I'm terrorized by the thought that I might lose you, so I'm treading lightly. Livy – I'm just trying to do everything I can to not fuck us up."

"Baby," She said as he sat up, and she stroked the side of his hair, "Relax. You need to relax, ok? We're easy – remember? We're not only fine, we're great – even right now. I love you, and as long as we keep everything in perspective and don't let anything stupid get in our way – we're going to be fine, Fitz. I'm not going anywhere. Are you going anywhere?"

"No," He didn't even breath before he answered her.

"Then we are going to be fine," She leaned in and kissed him sweetly, "I'm so glad you're mine."

"All yours, all the time," He told her, with a little smirk on his face – he did it on purpose.

He knew exactly how it usually affected her, and it broke into a wide smile as she reacted. She blushed, beautiful, and looked down at the ground for a second before she looked back up at him. It was like she couldn't bring herself to look at him, she had to advert her eyes – but it was in a good way. She looked at him as long as she could, then got that look in her eyes like she might just jump right into his lap and start displaying some inappropriate public affection – but then looked away. He thought it was absolutely adorable – and would be lying if he said that he didn't have the exact same feelings and thoughts sometimes. He finished tying his skates pretty quickly – then got down onto his knees and tied hers for her quickly. He then helped her to her feet and assisted her over towards the ice.

It was approaching noon on a Friday morning, so there weren't many other people around. There were a few kids skating at one end with their nanny – because she was far too young to have two ten year olds. It was a nice day, so there were a few people having their lunch in the commons, and a couple college students apparently not having left the city yet sitting up on the hill. It hadn't snowed just yet, so they were sitting on the ground a little ways away from the little rink.

"When are we seeing your family?" Olivia asked cautiously – he knew she had been wondering, and worrying about it.

He shrugged.

"What family?" He asked, clearing his throat, "Ari? Arianna's going to come here for Christmas."

"You've talked to your mother about it?" Olivia asked, and he nodded.

"When I told her that I wasn't coming to California she told me that her and dad were going on vacation for break," He said.

"Alone? Together?"

"Oh, no," He replied, "She's going to Ireland with – a friend. And dad's going to Italy with – his secretary."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," Fitz replied, "Mom and her _friend_ are going to come and stay with me for and Arianna for Christmas Eve, but she's flying out at noon Christmas day."

"So they're undivorced, like people have unbirthdays?"

"Apparently," He replied, "He seems like a nice guy…Somehow it works for the four of them. I feel the worst for the Secretary – dad's been banging her and dragging her around since I was ten."

"That's so messed up," She replied, and Fitz nodded.

"Don't I know it," He replied, as he stopped, steadied her and pulled her in close, "I never want us to be like that, Livy. If you took a guy – I'd… it wouldn't be pretty."

"Please, there's no way," She replied, and he smiled as he leaned in and kissed her, "Just like there will be no banging of secretaries."

"We've almost been together three years," He commented.

"Our anniversary's coming up," She said, as his arms wrapped tighter around him.

"It's a month off," He told her, leaning down and kissing her softly.

"Year one you were on a boat, Year two you were getting better, what're we going to do this time?" She chuckled softly.

"I got a few things up my sleeve," He replied and she smiled, "But right now I'm starving."

"Of course you are," She laughed a little at him, "How is it that you're always hungry?"

"It's not strictly a food thing all the time," He smirked, teasing her, "Though, this time it is."

"C'mon, let's get lunch."

The skated over to the edge, him gliding carefully so that he could help her, and so that she wouldn't lose her balance. They walked back over to their shoes, and return their rentals to the bored looking man behind the counter. Fitz reached for her hand, and took it carefully.

"Fitz, how is it that you exist?" She asked, and he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" He asked as they headed up the sidewalk, heading for their favorite restaurant without even thinking about it, "Are you feeling philosophical this afternoon?"

"No, it's just coming from your family," She said, "Coming from this world. You're not an alien your dad stole from area fifty-one years ago, right?"

"Nope, very human – don't worry," He replied, leaning over and kissing the side of her head, "I was thinking about that the other day, in fact. I was wondering how Arianna had turned out as normal as she did – but I think that it applies to me too. My parents are the last generation of that 'old money' crap. They are the last generation where it meant something that you were a little better off than everyone else – even if you didn't lift a finger for it. They actually actively think about how to keep their social class in tact. Like keeping their children away from 'common folk' and arranging marriages. Now it's a lot different, and I think that they did us both a favor sending us away. They're insane – but we only really had them influencing us on vacations – and that was when they didn't send us away to a camp, or to spend it with other family. Luckily, it was usually Stephen and his parents that we stayed with. My grandfather ran with, well, Camelot. There's a picture of Kennedy in our living room he's got dad on one knee and John-John in the other. Dad and Mom still seem to think it means they're better than other people – when they're not, it's a cool photo to have, but… it's a picture."

"Understandable," She leaned over and kissed him tenderly as they walked.

"What was that for?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Because I love you," She replied.

He smiled as he wrapped his arm low around her waist, ushering her through the cold towards food. There were just about to cross the street when he noticed a homeless man sitting on one of the park benches, using the cover of the bus stop. He was covered in rags, and his hair was nearly out of control. Fitz was getting ready to cross the street, peeling his eyes away from the man – knowing that the last thing the man wanted was to be stared at. Particularly by a flyboy in a military jacket, with an equally well dressed woman in his arms, he was just waiting for the traffic to slow enough so that they could cross. He was about to take a step out into the street when Olivia stopped. He gave her a questioning look – but she had her eyes fixed on the homeless man.

"Liv!"

"Oh my God," She said, and Fitz furrowed his eyebrow.

He was about to say 'What?', but she took off before he could even get the word out. She was headed straight for the man, and Fitz's adrenaline kicked in. What the hell was she doing? He ran off down the sidewalk after her – attempting in vain to catch up with her before she reached the man. He caught up with her at almost exactly the same time as she slowed down to a stop in front of the guy. Fitz instinctively put himself between her and the man, but very quickly realized that it was not at all necessary as Olivia stepped out from behind him anyways. He looked around, checking to make sure other people were around in case he needed them.

"Liv," He tried to discourage her as she stooped down to be eye level with the man.

"Huck?"

Fitz was more than just a little bit confused. He squinted a little bit, going down to try and get a better look at his face. Within seconds he realized that Olivia was right, it was Huck. He very quickly found himself squatting down next to Olivia. It couldn't be Huck – he was off being in the CIA, or whatever. How was he possibly living on the street? What was going on? Was he undercover, if he was why was he here – in Boston?"

"Huck," Fitz finally spoke up, "What's up – are you ok?"

"Fitz? Olivia?" He looked up.

"Huck, where are you staying?" Olivia asked him and he looked to the right and the left of himself.

"Here."

"Huck, are you still—" Fitz broke off, not wanting to blow anything for him, but Huck shook his head.

"Do you have any place to stay?" Olivia asked, shifting back a little bit.

Livy was a saint, but Huck stank.

"What're you doing on the street?" Fitz said, almost completely confounded.

"I-"

Huck broke off almost immediately, and Fitz looked over at Olivia. She was giving him a look like she had just brought home a lost puppy – and he had a feeling the pup would be staying with them a while. He took a deep breath and stood up. He reached down and offered Huck his hand, pulling him up to his feet.

"C'mon, you're not staying here."

"I'm ok," Huck told him and Fitz shook his head at him.

"Listen, it's our winter break," He told him, "I'm staying at my apartment a couple of blocks away. Olivia's staying with her parents most of the time. We've got plenty of room – Ari's coming, we'll have a full apartment with my mom too – but there'll still be plenty of room for you."

"I don't-"

"Huck, c'mon get a shower," He said.

"We were just going back for lunch," Olivia said – there went their lunch plans, "C'mon you can get a shower, and I'll whip something up.

"You guys sure?" Huck asked, and they both nodded.

"It's no problem, man," Fitz told him, "I'd hate to see you out on the street like this, "C'mon."


	31. Down and Out

A/N: So lack there of access to the internet (Though that's fixed now), I have found at least a temporary cure to writer's block – my Logic Professor's droning voice and the need to stay awake in class… Anyways sorry this took so long (I know I'm getting almost as bad as whoever schedules the episodes three weeks apart – but writer's block sucks) Anyways, enjoy :)

Skylines

Chapter Thirty-One: Down and Out

"So what do you boys want for lunch?" Olivia asked, trying to play hostess as they walked into the apartment.

"There's stuff in the fridge to make a pizza," Fitz replied, "Let me get Huck settled in with some towels, and I'll come help you."

She headed to the kitchen while Fitz led Huck back to one of the guest rooms. She was worried about Huck – what if they hadn't noticed him? What if they hadn't been there, or he had decided to use some other place to shelter himself from the wind? She cringed. He seemed to be a completely different guy than the one she had originally met with the rest of Fitz's friends at the coffee shop a few years ago. He had been such a great guy – smart, helpful. What was he eer doing on the street? He was at least a little smarter than that. She took a deep breath as she went to the fridge.

She started pulling out all the ingredients she could see inside of it for the Pizza. There was a ball of dough in one of the drawers, a jar of tomato sauce, and then she grabbed the grated cheese from the door, and broccoli from the crisper. She put everything out on the counter and when looking for the pizza pan and had just located it when Fitz had walked in. She knew he was at about the same thought process about Huck as she was. That, and he had been cheated out of his favorite lunch menu for a homemade pizza instead. She threw it together and into the oven.

"Is Huck in the shower?"

"Yeah," Fitz replied, "And I left out a set of clothes for him. Clean."

"You had an outfit that would fit him?"

"Yeah, my Aunt Linda decided that I was about a half a foot shorter and about twenty pounds heavier a few Christmases ago," He replied and Olivia chuckled, "Everything happens for a reason, I guess? This way I can dress Huck for a little while. She also decided to get me clothes for my birthday that year."

"What happened to him?"

"I wouldn't want to take a guess," Fitz replied, as he opened the fridge door and pulled out a Coke, "I don't think any of us have heard from since graduation."

"I just figured he was in the CIA – he couldn't contact us…"

"I was," Huck said as he walked into the kitchen, a little stiffer than he used to be – he was showered now, and dressed neatly in Fitz's clothes, "My mission was completed, and they dropped me back off in Boston."

"They just dropped you off?" Fitz was shocked, and Olivia wished he wouldn't do that.

"Yes," Huck replied, "It's just when a CIA operative gets released – there's no parades or big ceremonies."

Fitz looked more than a little embarrassed, but it wasn't as if Huck had said it meanly. Huck took a seat at the table, and Olivia sat with him – leaving Fitz to finish off the cooking, and the clean up. Olivia could tell that Huck hadn't meant to be mean to Fitz, he was simply stating the facts. It was true, CIA personnel did the dirtiest of the work, and never got any of the credit.

"I was really glad to hear you made it, Fitz," Huck spoke up, as if it were his awkward attempt at an apology, "We heard about that all the way – where I was. It's really good to see you."

"Yeah, thanks," Fitz said softly, rather glumly as he checked the pizza.

"It's a sore subject," Olivia whispered to Huck, and he nodded.

"I can understand that," Huck replied in an equal whisper.

"Who's ready for some Pizza?" Fitz asked, leaning against the oven carefully, "Cause it's going to be a little while longer."

The faint smirk on his face made Olivia smile, and Huck chuckle a little bit.

"I don't want to ruin you guys' plans for your break," Huck replied, and Fitz gave him a furrowed brow.

"You won't," Fitz replied, a worried look taking over his face, "You'll have to sleep on the couch Christmas Eve – but other than that you can just stay here – I'm actually going to insist on it."

"We're going down to have dinner with my parents," Olivia told Huck, "You can come along, if you want. My mom's cooking will be way better than this pizza."

"No, I can stay here as long as that's ok," Huck replied, and Fitz nodded.

"Actually, Huck," Fitz replied, taking a deep breath, "I was hoping you'd stay here indefinitely, well until you get your feet back on the ground. We're at Yale the majority of the year, and I was going to hire someone to check in on this place – you'd be doing me a favor."

Olivia could see clearly what Fitz was doing there, and she was sure that Huck did too. She looked over at Huck, praying that he would just take Fitz up on the kindness. She couldn't imagine Huck being out on the street alone, she wanted him to be safe. She wanted him to have a roof over his head, he deserved that at the very least. He was a veteran the same level as Fitz, maybe even higher. Who knew what he had done for the country, the last thing that he deserved was to be out on the street. Out on the street getting heckled by teenagers, looked down upon by business men who never did a heroic thing in their lives, and passersby who had no idea how much gratitude they should have for the man sleeping outside their apartment building. Huck looked over at her cautiously, and she gave him a little nod of encouragement.

"Thanks, Fitz," He replied, and Fitz smiled, "I really appreciate it."

Success. They ate their pizza and swapped what little stories they could with Huck, trying to catch up with his life. When they were done Olivia made up the couch for Huck to sleep on, not seeing the point of putting him in one of the bedrooms when Arianna and Fitz's mother would be there the next day. Huck didn't seem to mind where he was sleeping, as long as it was within the apartment. She smiled as she gave him his nice clean sheets, and gave him his pillows and handed him the TV remote.

"Fitz shouldn't be too late coming from my parents, but feel free to help yourself with anything, ok?" She asked, and he nodded, holding the remote like it was coming from six lifetimes ago, "You can relax Huck, we're going to take care of you – I'm going to take care of you."

"Thanks, Olivia," He replied, and she nodded.

"Ready to go?" Fitz asked as he walked back into the apartment, "I have all your stuff in the car."

"Yeah," Olivia said, and she gave Huck a quick hug before she turned to Fitz.

He was so good, she knew that taking care of Huck was something that he cared about, but she doubted whether he would have seen him. She knew that he would have found some other indirect way of helping him, maybe giving him money discretely, or arranging for him to be put into some sort of program. But he was putting what he would do on the backburner so that she could do what she wanted. He knew her well enough, and cared so much about her that he was more concerned for her than he was for Huck. He knew this was something she wanted to, and had to do and so he was letting her do it, and he was helping – because he loved her. She took a deep breath before answering him.

"Yeah, I just have one more thing to grab," She replied, as she went into the bedroom, calling back, "Yeah, I forgot my phone charger."

She went and unplugged it from the wall, and opened up the drawer in the nightstand. Lying there amongst everything else was the little black box she hadn't touched since the night that it was handed to her. She hadn't known what exactly it was that she wanted to do with it. They had a lot to learn about each other still, but they loved each other. She knew that she wanted to be with him, and that should trump anything else. No one was ever fully prepared to get married – but as long as everything was taken with both feet firmly on the ground, they would be ok. She opened up his sock drawer and put it in the back – maybe he wouldn't find it for another couple of weeks. She threw the charger in her coat pocket and went back out to the living room.

"Ready now?" He asked as she came out, trying to hide her smile.

"Yes," She said, offering him her hand.

"I won't be home too late, Huck," Fitz replied as he took a deep breath and led her out.

"Stop," She said as they hit the sidewalk, and he did.

"Did you forget something else?" He asked, turning back towards the apartment, "I'll get it for you-"

His sentence was cut short as she pressed her lips against his, letting her arms wrap tight around his neck. He seemed surprised at first then she had the unique feeling of him relaxing in her arms. Fitz's arms snaked around her with the certainty and ease that came with having done it about a thousand times. He began kissing her back with as much intensity as ever, and her hand started to get lost in the back of his hair. they kissed passionately, then slow, then tenderly as he held her carefully in his arms – they kissed until they heard teenage passerbys feel the need to whistle and cat call.

"What was that for?" He asked, a little taken aback as he pulled away from her.

"No reason," She smiled up at him.

"Oh, that had way more than a reason behind it."

"It was a thank-you."

"A thank you?" He replied, then smirked – the butterflies, "Tell me what I did – I'll make sure I do it more often."

"For loving me so much," She replied simply, "And taking care of Huck."

"He's my friend," He replied, and Olivia nodded.

"But that's not how you would have handled it," She replied, and he shook his head.

"No," He replied as they started walking towards the car, hands swinging between them, "But it's what you wanted."

She had to keep herself from saying anything else and ruining the moment. Smiling, she took his hand and led him across the street to where his car was parked. They got in and she took his hand over the center console, leaning over onto his shoulder. She strained her neck to kiss his cheek, and he seemed pleased as he squeezed her hand firmly. He drove away from the apartment and down towards her house. As they got closer and closer she was starting to get sadder and sadder that she would be staying with her parents, as opposed to at the apartment with Fitz and the random assortment of people that were apparently staying there over the holidays. She'd go up and visit and see Ari, Fitz's mom, her boyfriend. Afterall, she had to see her family too, right?

"I'm thinking of running for congress next term," Fitz spoke up.

"You are?"

"I'll be running in my last year of law school."

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle both a campaign and your boards?"

"I think I'll be fine as long as I'm not working for the governor too."

"Right," Olivia chuckled.

"So what'd you think?"

"I think it's the path you've always wanted to take..."

"That's not what I'm asking," He replied, "I'm trying to ask how you feel about it."

"What's it got to do with me? It's not like it's going to be a high profile campaign or anything."

"It might be," He replied, and she nodded, taking his hand.

"Ok," She said, "Well I'm with you, whether you want to run or not."

"I want to run."

"Ok," She replied, "What state are you running for?"

"Out of Boston," He replied, and she nodded.

"Hence keeping the apartment," She replied, and he nodded.

"Which means that I'm going to need to start doing...things as soon as we get back to school," He replied, "Good politics says that they should be the ones who think it was their idea that I run."

"Do you have anything planned so far?"

"Ah benefit I'm speaking at just before new years," He replied, "It's a dinner wiin Washington. Would you come with me?"

"Of course," She said, resetting her head against his shoulder with a smile.

"You seem - cuddly," Fitz said as they got off the highway and he began to navigate through Olivia's tiny little town.

"I'm seriously regretting that I'm not staying with you tonight," She replied, and he smiled as he pulled into the driveway.

"We could turn around now, tell your parents I got sick," He offered, and she shook her head.

"No, I miss them," She told him, "I think I'm just having a severe case of wanting my cake and eating it too."

He chuckled as they got out of the car.

"I love you, Fitz," Olivia said as they met in front of the hood, and he smiled, taking her hand.

"I love you, too," He smiled back at her as he escorted her up to the front door, "We can get your stuff after dinner - I'm starving."

"You just ate pizza," She replied.

"Pizza is much further down on the food scale than your mother's cooking," He smirked as her parents opened the door for them.

"There's my baby girl," Jayne said as Olivia led him into the house.

"Hey, mom," Olivia smiled, dropping Fitz's hand to give her a hug.

"Hey, Fitz," Her father said, extending his hand and shaking Fitz's, "You've been hiding her away from us."

"I'm very sorry, sir," He said with a smile, "I was never a very good sharer."

"That's an understatement," Olivia teased him just before throwing her arms around her father, "Daddy."

"Hey, sweetie."

"Well, c'mon, dinner's almost ready," Her mother beckoned them into the kitchen and they poured everyone glasses of wine for herself, her father, and offered one to Fitz.

"No thanks," He smiled as they waited for her to check the food in the oven.

Then all four of them walked over into the living room and sat around for a while. They were chatting and talking, mostly about school. Olivia was still wrapping her head around the fact that Fitz was going to be going into his last year of law school in the fall. She would be graduating, next year. She was already trying to look into law schools, and Fitz was getting ready to start his career. She took a deep breath as she sat down next to Fitz, very nearly on his lap. She was still not pleased that she was going to be separated from him - but she would probably be separated from him more and more once his campaign started.

"Everything ok, Liv?" Fitz asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah," She said as her parents came back into the room.

"So what's the plan for break?" Her father asked, looking to Fitz.

"Well, my mom and sister are coming for Christmas, Liv's just agreed to join me on a speaking engagement I have in Washington for New Years. Other than that I think we're just hanging around."

"That'll be fun," Her mother said and they both nodded, "but a couple of the days that you guys are around I'd like you guys to come with me to see my side of the family in New Hampshire - we can go skiing, it'll be fun."

"Just give us a day," Fitz replied, and she smiled.

"Good, that'll be fun," She said as Olivia's father stood up.

"I'm going to go check on dinner - I'm starving - it really should be done by now, shouldn't it?" He said as he got up and left the room for the kitchen.

"I'll see if I can help," Fitz kissed the side of Olivia's head and followed him in.


	32. Send Her My Love

Skylines

Chapter Thirty-Two: Send Her My Love

Fitz was on the train, his campaign swirling around him. His father had been thoroughly less than pleased that he had officially launched it so far out of his jurisdiction. He was beyond the help of his father, and he was pleased about that. He didn't need any more "help" from him, and was sure that as long as he lived he wouldn't need anymore. As he was sitting on the train, an analyst beside him, and a manager his father had insisted on sending along, he had the side of his head against the window – and he was missing his Liv. It was a good thing that he would be with her in - he looked down at his watch – two hours. He was starting to rethink this whole 'running for office' thing.

Offices of the highest accord were always what he had wanted, but he had never figured in how Olivia would work in with that. She was younger than him, which wasn't really a problem, but she was still in school. She was almost done with undergrad, but then would be off to law school. He wanted to pull her out and take him with him, and he knew she would if he asked – but he wasn't willing to. He wanted her to have her own life, her own career. His choices weren't her choices, and he was willing to deal with that. She wanted things – and he loved that about her. He sighed, maybe it was him that should be rethinking his goals – but he stopped himself. Liv wouldn't want him to give up anything that he wanted to do any more than he wanted her to. So they would have to endure – the problem was he wasn't sure if he could. He missed her too much.

The last time they were together before everything got too crazy was when they had taken the trip down to Washington for New Years Eve. He could still remember the strappy silver dress she had worn that night perfectly. The way that it fit her shape so perfectly, and the way that she had smiled up at him. There was a moment when he had pulled her out onto the dance floor when he thought that he should let on that he knew that she had put the ring back. But he didn't. He wanted her to be surprised and putting the ring on her finger the weekend after she had put it back in his drawer wasn't going to do it. It HAD to be special, perfect. She deserved that, at least, from him.

When they had gotten back it was studying for finals and getting ready to take his boards – which he was taking that weekend, actually. He missed waking up with her curled up next to him, and all he wanted to do was get home and crawl into bed with her. He was going absolutely insane without her. He was traveling every weekend, either into Boston or down to Washington. Olivia tried to go along with him when she could, but she had things to do on the weekends too. He was on the train riding up to Hartford from Washington – and was wondering how difficult it would be to get Abby to leave the apartment for a few minutes to let him into their dorm room for the evening, so he could surprise Olivia. He should be studying, but he couldn't even think of anything but her. There would be plenty of time to cram before he went into the test.

The train pulled into the station a couple hours later and he was stepping off the train onto the platform. He took out his cellphone and was pressing it to his ear – waiting for Abby to answer it. He took a deep breath and shuffled along the platform, he'd call a cab once he had arranged everything with Abby. It seemed to ring forever without her picking it up, until it finally went to her voice mail. He hung up and looked around for a split second before he felt eyes on him. He looked over at the overhang and spotted Livy standing there, waiting for him.

"Liv," He smiled, putting his phone into his pocket and dragging his suitcase behind him as he broke into a run towards her.

"Hey, babe," She said as he dropped his bag and threw his arms around her.

"God, I've missed you, Livy."

"Mmmm, mine," She leaned up and kissed him, "It's really a pain having a fancy boyfriend who's off doing fancy things every weekend."

"Fancy?" He asked and she nodded as he leaned down and kissed her.

"See? I told you, fancy," She replied and he chuckled, "And by the way, Stephen and Abby are in Boston for the night."

"They are?" He quirked an eyebrow with a smirk as he took her hand and they started walking towards her car.

"Yeah, they're celebrating with Huck – he found a job with some agency," She replied, and Fitz smiled.

"Well that's great news."

"But, it also means we have the apartment to ourselves," Olivia said, tossing him the keys to the car as he finished piling in his crap.

"Oh?" He replied as he got into the driver's seat next to where she was already sitting in the passenger's seat, "Well you know what that means, right?"

"Oh what's that?" She asked, barely able to get the words out before he had managed to lean in and capture her attention, and her lips.

"It means that your 'fancy' boyfriend as you claim, is going to take you home, and cook up some grilled cheese," He smirked, "And we're going to eat it on the couch in sweats. And, there might even be a beer in there."

"We haven't had more than a half an hour together in two weeks and all you want is grilled cheese and beer?" She teased him and he shook his head almost violently.

"Livy, that's what I'm planning for a snack after I carry you into my bedroom and lock the door for about an hour – hey I'm hungry," He said with a smirk, and she smiled as his hand found its way to her thigh.

"Locking the doors in an empty house?"

"Trust me, the neighbors might come try and check on us," He replied, leaning across the gap and kissing the side of her face, in a ravenous way trailing down the side of her neck.

True to his word, an hour or so after they had gotten back from the train station, he was standing in the kitchen – in his boxers cooking grill cheeses, a beer in his hand. Olivia was sitting with just his shirt covering her at the table waiting for him to be done. He turned back around and put his bottle of beer down for a second to pick up the spatula.

Olivia's arms wrapped around him from behind, one hand going up and resting square in the center of his chest, and the other clinging across his abs, and holding onto the opposite hip. He smiled as she went up on her tip-toes and kissed the side of his neck. Shivers started going down that entire side of his body – and he turned his neck. She laughed as he gave her no option but to pull away and give him a break. She smiled mischievously and he turned his head and kissed her sweetly. She hated the taste of beer, so he was careful to keep his own lips together, simply pressing them softly to hers. He was pleasantly surprised when her lips started to bait his. He folded just about as soon as he realized what was going on.

"What was that?" He asked softly as they broke apart – she was a little out of breath.

"You weren't the only one who's missed someone," She said, "It's not fair to tempt me with half kisses."

"I love you," He replied, then drained his beer, "What do you think of your fancy boyfriend now?"

"Babe, I'd love you even if _this_ was as fancy as you got," She replied, and he smiled, "Though – It'd be a shame, you look so good in a suit."

"Well, allow me to take ou out to dinner," He paused, looking over at the kitchen clock, which read about three in the morning, "Tonight – When are you done with your classes today?"

"Four."

"I'll pick you up at five."

"Five? For Dinner?"

"I may have something else up my sleeve."

"May?"

"Ok, I do," He replied, leaning over and softly brushing his lips across hers.

He grabbed a couple of plates from the cabinet and shoveled on their grilled cheeses. He handed her her's with another peck on the cheek as they headed into the living room. They ditched the plates and snuggled up together while they ate. She finished her sandwich, and just laid there on top of him – her head on his chest. He could tell she didn't want to move – she wanted to sleep all night out there on the couch. Eventually he finished eating. He left the abandoned plates where they were on the coffee table, and carried her in both arms back to the bedroom. He laid her down carefully under the sheets before he crawled in with her. He pulled her into his arms, and she settled her head into the center of his chest with a smile, drifting back off to sleep.

He woke up the next morning hating Mondays more than ever. Olivia was up, showered, dressed, and heading out of the apartment before he had even rolled out of bed. He felt like making a comment about making sure it was cash that she left on the dresser, but thought better of it as he sprung up to catch her. He threw on a pair of pajama pants that were somewhere on his way to the door and ran out into the hall. He caught up with her just as she reached the door. He grabbed hold of her hand just before it reached the knob, and she turned and smiled.

"Well hi there, sleepyhead," She said softly, and he smirked.

"What no good luck kiss?" He teased her, she chuckled.

"You don't need any luck," She responded, and Stephen cackled from the kitchen.

"You know the stuff better than I do," He called, "You think we could switch brains for like four hours? And I'm sure you can just ask for a kiss…"

"Thanks," Fitz hollered back sarcastically, not looking away from Olivia, "May I have a kiss then?"

"Do you really have to ask?"

She put her arms up around his neck and went up on her tip-toes so that she could at least be nearer to his face. He leaned down to close the rest of the gap and kissed her softly. He reveled in the feeling of her lips, and the taste of her mouth. He wanted the stupid campaign to be over. He wanted to stay there with her in his arms. He wanted to kiss her goodbye every morning by the door. He wanted it to be simple. He had had this feeling before.

_**Three Months Ago: **_

"So how important is it that I go to this thing tonight?" He asked as he stood in front of the mirror in their hotel room, trying to figure out how best to tie his tie, but it didn't seem to be working for him.

"You said you would be – so very."

Olivia came out of the bathroom putting her earrings in, and Fitz turned around. She smiled, which somewhat quickly broke into a laugh. He opened his arms up and she pointed to his tie. It was supposed to be a bow-tie. He had apparently, in the lack of sleep, forgotten how to tie it. It was hanging loose around his neck, his collar popped around it – and he could only imagine how ridiculous he looked. She came towards him, still chuckling a little bit.

"You know, that's something you should be able to do if you want to be in congress," She replied, and he smiled – blushing slightly as she reached up to fix it for him.

He wrapped his arms around her – low.

"That's what I have you for, isn't it?" He asked playfully as she was straightening it out.

"That's what you think," She replied with a cute little smirk as he tried to lean in and kiss here, "Oh, you better bring much more than kisses to the table, Grant."

"Oh, so that's why you're here," He laughed, and she smiled as she picked the jacket to his tux up off the bed.

"Are you ready to go downstairs, or not?"

"I don't know now," He quipped back , "I hate not to deliver…"

"You can later, babe," She leaned up and kissed him before leading him out of the hotel room.

He smiled, letting her lead him with one hand as the other hand reached into the pocket of his suit. If he hadn't been such a coward, the ring safety stashed inside it's little box would have been able to be functional. He had followed her father into the kitchen with full intent to ask for his permission to ask Olivia – but he had chickened out. He wasn't sure why – we was pretty sure her father really liked him, but he felt guilty. What if her father saw it as him trying to keep her from her dreams? It wasn't – he would just have to prove it to her, to everyone. He wanted Liv to have everything – and anything that she wanted. Including the ring in his pocket – but he would have to wait. He was not going to ask her without at least speaking to her father.

They left Washington the next morning, a little sleepy, but they landed in Boston at about noon. They stopped by the apartment and checked in on Huck – who was getting more and more comfortable about staying with Fitz. This was a relief to him, he worried about him He wanted Huck to be able to get better, because it had become increasingly apparent that mentally, there was something going on with him. They dropped Fitz's bags in his room, and then he drove Olivia home.

"There are the weary travelers," Randall walked out into the driveway to meet them as Fitz was carrying the heavier of Olivia's bags towards the door, "Lemme help you with that."

"Let him carry it, dad," Olivia said, bringing up the rear as Randall settled for simply holding the door open for them.

"That was one hell of a speech, kid," Randall said, as Olivia wrenched her suitcase away from Fitz and disappeared off into the house to put her stuff away.

"Thank you," Fitz smiled as he was led into the kitchen.

"So are we going to have that conversation you wanted to have before you left now?"

"How did you-"

"I've been waiting for you to come to me for months," He replied, smirking slightly, "Then I was afraid that you wouldn't."

"I wouldn't dream of it, sir," Fitz said and Randall nodded.

"You're a good man, you take good care of her, when she lets you – and you seem to know when to back off and let her do her thing – which is important," He replied, "I am thankful that you've come to chat with me about it."

"She knows it's coming," Fitz replied, and Randall nodded.

"We all do," He said, "Her mother was asking last night whether you'd come to me yet or not."

"Well I'd still like to ask formally," He replied, and Randall nodded – he had been expecting this, "Mr. Pope, I don't know what I would do without Olivia. I love her, so much. I just want to make her happy – I want to be there. I know that she still has a bit of school – and I respect that, I love that. I don't want that to change – I want her to be her. So, what I'm getting at – How do you feel about it?"

"I feel like you will be the best son-in-law a guy could ask for," He replied, then smirked, "Besides, she's crazy about you – I think she'd kill me if I said 'no'."

_**Present Day: **_

"You do know its customary to relax after having taken the bar, right?" Stephen asked him as they made their way back to the apartment after the test.

"Yes," Fitz replied as they walked into the apartment, it was about four.

"Then why do you look _more_ stressed out?"

"You'll hopefully understand later tonight," Fitz replied as he headed for the shower, "I have to go."

He sped through his shower and threw on a white collared shirt and a pair of really dark colored kakhi's. This was offset by his brown leather belt, and he ran a comb through his hair before he walked out into the living room. Abby and Stephen were cuddling on the couch, and he walked right into their line of vision to the TV.

"What're you doing?" Stephen asked, like Fitz had just stepped on his tower in preschool.

"How do I look?" He asked, and Stephen furrowed his brow.

"Like an asshole who just blocked the TV."

"You look great," Abby told him, hitting Stephen on the shoulder, "What's the occasion?"

"I'm taking Liv out to dinner."

"You do that all the…" Stephen trailed off and then Fitz watched his face as it clicked, "No."

"I have to go pick her up," Fitz called over his shoulder as he grabbed his blue suit jacket from the hall closet and headed out the door, "You don't think it's a good idea?"

"I think it's a fantastic idea," Abby said, looking excited – having caught on.

She looked over at Stephen somewhat expectantly as Fitz grabbed a single rose out of a vase in the hall. He returned to the room with it Stephen was slumped on the couch and Fitz smiled a little to himself.

"Not my fault," Fitz told him and Stephen nodded.

"It totally is," He called back as Fitz went out the door and onto the street.

The looks that he was getting as he passed people were interesting, and very much worth it. He couldn't help but realize that he looked particularly dressed up – but he didn't care. It was spring time, and he was off to pick up his Olivia. He checked his watch, and nearly willed the hands to go faster. He was running early, and he wanted this to be perfect. He didn't have anywhere near the stones to keep it in all night, he was going to have to time this perfectly.

He detoured himself into the library – which was just across a quad from Olivia's dorm. He walked through the shelves, sweating it out and trying to hide the rose awkwardly. He didn't know who was watching, but he didn't want Olivia to be tipped off – also, he looked absolutely insane, and he was very aware of it. He finished a couple laps and then decided that it would be ok to head over to the dorm. He waited for a couple of people to walk out, and then strolled in. He went through the hall, and right up to her door – checking his watch. It was a couple minutes past five, which meant that she would be all ready, waiting for him to show up.

He knelt down on one knee in front of the closed door. He took the ring out of the box, and very carefully brought it up the stem to the bud of the flower. He placed it very carefully and held it just right so that the diamond was faceing up, just below the deep red of the rose. He smiled to himself, then used his other hand to knock – hard – on the door. He didn't want to have to do it twice, the flower, and ring in and offering style position as he looked up, and waited.

"Fitz, the door's not locked, c'mon in," She called, "I just have to get my shoes on.."

He didn't say anything, just knocked again.

"Fitz."

He knocked again.

"Fine, one second," She replied, and he heard her – apparently putting on her shoes – then the sound of her heels hitting the floor as she walked over, and flung the door open, "And why couldn't you just-"

She froze, he smirked. He brought the rose higher, so that the ring was very clearly in her line of vision – in case she had missed it before he spoke.

"Livy," He said, a huge smile coming across his face, "I belong to you. I want to be your man, forever. You're the love of my life – I'm never going away. Marry me, because I don't want to exist without you."

She paused – and each passing second felt like an hour to him.

"Yes," She whispered, and he got to his feet as quickly as his slightly trick leg would allow him, and wrapped her up in his arms so tight that her feet came off the floor.

He set her back down with a kiss, and slipped the ring off the rose. He pulled it over the flower to get it off quicker, accidentally decapitating it as he did so. She chuckled, and he caught her lips between his, swallowing her laugh as he kissed her deeply. He wrenched his lips from hers, and pressed his forehead against hers as he took her hand, and very carefully slipped the ring onto her finger.

A/N: Hey guys, I saved this for the end because I didn't trust myself not to ruin it. This is the last chapter technically :( but there will be an epilogue – which should be on its way pretty soon…. Love you guys!


	33. Epilogue

Skylines

Epilogue

"Fitzgerald. Thomas. Grant. The. Fourth. What are you doing?" Olivia said as she walked into the room where her sons were playing.

The five year old froze at the bottom of the rope that he had just started to climb up. He looked up at his mother – who seemed to be waiting for an actual answer as she held his baby sister on her hip. She tapped her toe on the carpet for a second before she watched the realization on his face that she wasn't looking at him. She was watching his brother, her other son (Who was younger than his brother by a full two minutes, not that Fitzgerald would ever let him forget it). He was the more adventurous of the two – and halfway up the rope that was attached to a thankfully broken bell.

"Alex," He whispered urgently out of his little mouth – and Olivia had to keep herself from chuckling as she readjusted the baby on her hip.

"What, Gerry?" Alex replied, in an equal whisper.

"Alexander Daniel Grant, I see you too," Olivia said, and he froze a few feet off the ceiling, sliding down off the rope and standing next to his brother.

"Sorry, mom."

"I have told you both a hundred times not to climb on this rope," She said, "You boys are going to hurt yourselves. You have a whole mansion, and the grounds to play. You pretty much have free reign, and all you seem to want to do is climb this rope. You have a rope latter on your playground outside."

"We're sorry, mom," Gerry said, attempting to smooth things over, "I'm so sorry, mom. We won't do it again, promise. You look beautiful by the way."

"Nice try," Olivia cracked a little bit of a smile as she lightly bounced Lillian up and down lightly.

"It works for dad," He replied and he shuffled forward, hugging her – or her leg which was what he could reach – and took her free hand and kissed it, "Oh, and we love you."

"Thank you, Gerry," Olivia said, the kid clearly spent much too much time studying his father.

"Alright, you boys need to get out of here," She said, "I thought I locked the door to this room…"

"We found a way around that," Alex smiled wide.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"Be quiet, stupid," Gerry said, hitting him.

"Gerry," Olivia scolded him.

"There's a passageway into the room through that shelf," Alex said, motioning over his shoulder.

"A passageway?" She heard the low, manly, and sexy voice coming from behind her that never failed to make her knees quake – and she had three kids to prove it.

"The boys seem to have found one," Olivia replied, turning around to see him, and he smiled as he walked right up and kissed her, taking the baby from her.

"Lily, what have your brothers gotten themselves into?" Fitz smiled as he kissed the baby's head and settled her on his hip instead of Olivia's.

"They were trying to climb the rope again."

"Boys," He said, as if they had somehow physically wounded him, "You understand why we don't want you climbing it, right? We don't want you guys to get hurt – and sooner or later you're going to."

He walked over and lifted up the rope, tucking it up on the top of a bookcase the boys would have no chance at getting to. Olivia watched as the boys' faces fall as they realized what was happening.

"Dad! No fair," Alex protested, and Fitz shook his head.

"I won't have you boys breaking an arm or a leg falling off that thing," He said firmly, then took a deep breath, "I'm sorry it had to come to this, boys. James!"

One of the secret service body guards that was assigned to the kids' detail when they were out stepped into the room.

"Yes, Sir?" He asked as he stepped inside.

"Could you bring the kids up to the residence for lunch?" He asked, kissing the top of Lily's head as he handed her off, "And could you have Delilah put her down for her nap after?"

"Of course, sir," James replied, cradling the baby as he reached down for Gerry's hand.

Alex grabbed hold of Gerry's other hand, and James led them out of the room basically like a small flock of ducks. For whatever reason they were both a little bit more well behaved for James. This was probably because he was huge and intimidating, and he didn't talk much. He wasn't a push over like dear old mom and dad were. They were really well behaved for Huck too, so they figured it was just a thing. Huck and James honestly had a similar build and disposition – so it wasn't all too shocking.

Fitz smirked a little as he waited for the James and the kids to be off down the hall before taking a step closer to her, pulling her into his arms as he kept his adoring eyes right on her. He smiled as he pressed his forehead right against her's, looking down lovingly into her eyes, so much so that she thought she might melt right there in his arms. She was so happy, and grateful that they were still them. She gathered everything in her as she put her hands flat on his lapel, careful to avoid his pin, and kissed him softly. At least it started off that way, before long she couldn't really held herself – and he picked her up, and settled her on his lap as he sat down on the nearest couch.

"Mr. President, what're you doing here?" She asked, once she had pulled away and her thoughts were returning to her, "I thought you had meetings all today."

"One got out early, and I missed you," He said, leaning in and kissing her ear, "And the kids, too. But mostly you – I've just spend a couple days alone with them."

"My mom was having surgery," She replied, and he nodded.

"And I understand that," He replied, "I'm not saying that I wanted you to stay here – just that I missed you while you were gone."

"I love you," She smiled back at him as she kissed him quickly – trying to avoid getting too into it again.

"I love you too," He replied, pulling her into his chest and kissing her forehead, "And have I mentioned how sexy it sounds when you call me 'Mr. President' like that?"

"You might've," She replied as he got up, lifting her up with him, and setting her down.

"I've only got a few minutes," He warned her, his arms still around her, his hands low on her back, "We don't have time to make another baby-"

"Ha," Olivia mockingly laughed at him, "We are not having another baby."

"That's what you said after the boys were born."

"That's because I was thirty-one, I had newborn twin boys and my husband had just been elected the youngest president," She replied, "I was a little overwhelmed."

"And now that you're a second term first lady?" He asked, smirking and she kissed his cheek.

"And I spent my nine months of my first term pregnant?" Olivia checked, and he smiled, "Lily's only six months old. And you're turning forty this year.."

"Yeah let's not get into _that_," He replied, teasing himself as she leaned up and kissed him.

"Don't worry, you're still as gorgeous as the day I met you," She replied, and he smiled.

"But you don't want another kid."

"Three is plenty," Olivia replied, and Fitz nodded.

"I'm getting the feeling that you're right," He said, motioning with his eyes over to the rope he had just had to move out of the boys' reach, "Wanna check out that passageway?"

"You're a child."

"Oh, c'mon, you don't want to check it out?" He asked, letting go of her to take hold of her hand.

"Of course I do," She replied, and he pulled her off and moved the shelf that Alex had pointed out.

They went through the tunnel-like path that it gave and came out in a hallway.

"How many of these do you think they've found?" Olivia asked as they realized that they were just outside the Oval Office – it being just around the corner.

"Probably at least a dozen," He replied, pulling her back into his arms again – which she allowed almost lazily.

"So how're we ever going to find them when they hide from us now?" Olivia said, and Fitz pointed up to the ceiling – more specifically, the camera on the ceiling.

"We cheat," He replied simply as he leaned in and kissed her forehead, "But I really don't want to talk about that now."

"Oh?" She asked, as he took her breath away with another soft kiss.

"No," He replied, pulling just far enough away to not be kissing her anymore and caressing her cheek, "I'd much rather just spend what little time I have on break from work with my beyond beautiful wife – not talking."

"Fitz, we're in the hallway," She reminded him, and his forehead dropped onto her shoulder.

"Sorry."

"How are negotiations going?" She asked him, and he didn't say anything, "I thought they might be heading that way."

"I don't think I have a choice, Liv," He replied, and she nodded – taking his hand and leading him down the hall and into the Oval Office.

"What do you mean you don't have a choice?" She asked as he sat down on one of the couches – and she hoisted herself up and sat on his desk.

"The country's going insane they want a war so badly," He replied, "It's only a matter of days before they start siting on the front lawn. All my advisors are telling me – Liv, I'm going to have to send our boys to war. That's exactly what I've wanted to keep from happening – but at the same time, I'm supposed to make decisions in the best interest of the people."

"They're angry," Olivia told him, "They're upset, they're not thinking. We lost a hundred people in that attack, how many more would we lose in war? And, we don't even really know who's really to blame yet – I'd hate to see you declare war on the wrong place."

"We got confirmation today," Fitz told her, "A signed letter from their Emperor – They ordered the attack on Los Angeles."

"Ok," Olivia took a deep breath, "War's what they want – what do you want?"

"I think it'd be best," He sighed, and she nodded, "The attacks won't stop. God, all I can think about is that baby-"

"I've been actively not trying to think about it since we went to his funeral with the kids," Olivia replied and Fitz nodded.

"I know," He got up and went over, running his hand soothingly up the side of her arm, "I don't want to do this."

"No one said this was an easy job, Fitz," Olivia said, running her hand back through his hair, "In fact, no one says that, and I don't think anyone ever has. If you wanted an easy job you should have become a law professor."

"Hey, I heard that," Cyrus, now Fitz's chief of staff walked in, "Being a law professor's no walk in the park – especially with this one."

"I still have a couple minutes, don't I?" Fitz asked him, one hand on Liv's thigh, the other on the desk as he turned to look at him.

"Not long enough for that, sir," Cyrus replied, almost chuckling.

"Ok, I should go and make sure Lily's going to fall asleep," Olivia slipped off the desk.

Momentarily, she was in extraordinary proximity to Fitz. She put her hands up and cupped the sides of his face – kissing him in a way that could almost be described as fierce. She pulled away, flattened his lapel, and kissed his cheek like she couldn't help herself.

"I love you," She told him as she headed out of the room, "You're going to do the right thing."

"How are you so sure?" He asked as she left, but she didn't respond.

"Seeking council with the wife?" Cyrus asked and Fitz shrugged.

"It's a whole lot more fun than seeking it with you," He teased, trying to lighten the mood, and Cyrus raised his eyebrows.

"James would leave me, sorry," Cyrus replied, and Fitz nodded –then chuckled a little to himself.

"I'm not sure what Liv would do…"

"Back on subject," Cyrus said, and Fitz nodded.

"We're going to war, Cy."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Me too," He replied, "I need the motion to go through congress."

"They've been waiting for this for weeks," He replied, and Fitz nodded, "Hey, I'm sorry, Fitz."

"It's the job, isn't it?" He asked, Cyrus nodded.

"It is, sir," Cy said as he headed towards the door.

"And Cy," Fitz said, pausing Cy on his way to contact congress.

"Yes, sir?" Cyrus stopped by the dor – his hand still on the handle as he flipped around.

"I want to meet with the marines that are going to be deployed first."

"Sir?"

"I want to see their faces, Cy," Fitz replied, "I want to thank them personally. No press."

"Sir…"

"Nothing else, Cy," Fitz said, walking around his desk, "What the rest of my schedule look like today?"

"They'll want to deploy by tonight, tomorrow morning latest – so I'll try and fit in a visit to base before the benefit this evening."

"Thank you, Cyrus."

"That's it?"

"That's all, Cy," Fitz replied, sitting down behind his desk.

That evening Fitz got to the podium for the first time at a Marine base. He was speaking in his dress-blues, with Olivia standing just behind him, holding Lily and with the boys standing obediently on either side of her. He was looking out on a seas of faces that were forced bold, terrified to be scared, and he was sure one or two of them thought her was entirely filled with shit. However, they were all still attentive, which he appreciated. They all seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, like only the ones that were about to be sent over first could. There had been a few gasps when he had walked in in dress blues. They were used to a man walking in in an Armani suit – a man who knew that he was above them.

When he stepped back from the podium, there was a pause of silence before they all started to clap. He stepped down off the stage, then turned around to lift Alex and Gerry down and set them safely on the ground. He offered Olivia a hand as the boys stood firmly by his side, and then he led his family down the rows of servicemen. Taking the time to shake each one of their hands, wish them well, and thank them for their service. It wasn't nearly enough – but it was what he could feasibly do. It wasn't enough, but he was hoping that the war would be over, and they would bring them all home. But he knew they wouldn't – couldn't – all come back.

"You did good," Olivia told him softly, snuggled up to his side in the presidential limousine.

The boys were playing with a couple action figures that they had stashed away in the car, and Lily was sleeping in her car-seat. The boys were loud, no idea of what was really going on – and he didn't have the heart or the will to explain it to them. They were children, there was no reason for them to fully understand what the cost of them being able to play without worry was. He put his arm around Olivia and kissed the side of her head affectionately.

"I love you, Fitz," Olivia whispered, kissing the side of his neck, "It had to happen."

"I love you, too," He replied, "And, I know."

He sighed, he just wished he didn't have to. He put his chin on top of her head as she pit in his chest. The driver drove through the streets of Washington going back to the White House while he looked out the window at the bloody red summer skyline.

* * *

A/N: Tada! :'( a little tear to see this one go… but I have other things coming up… and if you aren't reading one of my other stories… check 'em out, you might find one you like :) Or, by one of the other fantastic FF authors. Love you all, thanks for sticking around :)


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